Beautiful World
by sketching.gray
Summary: AU There were times she wanted to be whisked away. One mysterious letter and she found that her wish had come true... sadly. Hiatus.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine… unfortunately.

A/N: Another converted work. It's pretty old, but I made it… better? Well, maybe not better, but it's more current, I guess. And this is a SASUSAKU, NARUHINA, NEJITEN, AND TEMASHIKAINOSAI fic.

Enjoy.

* * *

Beautiful World

Prologue

* * *

_  
Ow, my shoulder…_ I thought to myself, rolling my shoulders back. I rolled my head back for good measure. _Why did Tsunade-shishou_ (1) _have to make me rewrite that entire textbook? I can't feel my brain, damnit. _

_And it's not like I wanted to drop that glass of water all over that girl's lap! Stupid boss making me work overtime. I'm so tired._

Stupid part-time job always left me tired, so why am I complaining? My future mentor didn't help my aching limbs either, so hell.

Sigh. At least it was a nice day, right?

It was a typical spring evening, I guess. The sun was just beginning to set in the horizon, and the sky was bleeding sweet shades of red, yellow, and tinges of blue and orange. I breathed in; the air seemed so much sweeter now that I was out of that stuffy café. I reached into my skirt's pocket and checked the time on my phone: 6:07pm, March 28th, 2xxx. I looked at the horizon again. I shook my head.

"It's spring time and the sun is setting so early. Man, winter is a bitch."

Clutching onto my bags, I dodged oncoming crowds of people on the sidewalk. I shivered from the cold slightly - I forgot to bring a jacket that day - and rushed past more people on my way home.

I bumped into someone. I gave a quick, "sorry," as I looked into two pairs of pearly eyes. One kindly smiled back -

* * *

"Hyuuga, Hinata," clack, clack, "Age: 17. Hair color: black. Eye color: N/A. Height: 165 cm. Weight: 46 kg. Notes: Hyuuga clan heiress."

* * *

- and the other gave me a look.

* * *

Clack. Clack. "Hyuuga, Neji. Age: 18. Hair color: brown. Eye color: N/A. Height: 175 cm. Weight: 55 kg. Notes: Hyuuga, Hinata's cousin on her father's side; part of the lower branch of the Hyuuga clan."

* * *

Normally, I would have glared back, but I was too tired to deal with an asshole. They were from Konoha Academy (my school's more… _proper_ sibling), or that school for rich upper-class people, too. I didn't want one of them hiring a hit man to kill me or something…

As I continued homeward, I saw one of my senpai (2) from my high school coming my way. She was laughing with one of her friends, whom had made it his personal mission to get to know me.

I crept closer to the windows of the shops to my left.

_Don't let him see me. I am tired, I'm about ready to die on my bed now, and I am trying to be incognito here!_

As the twosome got closer, I could hear their conversation becoming more clear.

"Lee, stop worrying! You'll do fine at the tournament tomorrow!"

"I do not doubt my youthfulness, dear friend, but I'll be going against my most youthful rival! They say he's the best in Tokyo's Konoha Acad-!"

"You'll definitely win, Lee."

"Thank you for the kind words, my sweet Tenten! But Neji is-"

They walked by me without a word. I sped up a little and turned to see if Lee had noticed me, but instead it was the girl-

* * *

"Nakamura, Tenten. Age," clack, clack, "18. Hair color: brown. Eye color: brown. Height: 166 cm. Weight: 49 kg. Notes: N/A."

* * *

-looking back at me. After a silent wink, she just smiled as she continued to walk without stopping with Lee chatting furiously at her side. I stood still for a moment. A smile bloomed from my mouth as well, mentally thanking the girl who had just saved me fifteen minutes of useless chitchat. Feeling a bit happier, I went on my way.

I glanced at a few stores and passed even more. After a few minutes, I ended up being stopped by a stop light. I patiently waited for the cross signal to light.

A girl walked up next to me. She didn't seem to notice I was standing there (how she couldn't, I will never know - hello, pink hair?) and kept herself preoccupied with her pretty face in her compact. Her creamy peach skin, those eyeliner-framed baby-blue eyes, and blonde hair made me wonder if she was more attractive than me.

_Well, according to the two boys staring at her (boobs), that would be a yes._ I rolled my eyes. I looked down and dusted myself off. My blue and white uniform was simple, and it wasn't exactly trendy compared to the short shorts, white tank top, tan shrug, and fur boots the neighboring girl was wearing.

Then again, I never was a trendy girl-

* * *

"Yamanaka, Ino. Age: 17. Hair color: blonde. Eye color: blue. Height: 167 cm. Weight: 48 kg. Notes: Yamanaka clan heiress."

* * *

- even though I tried. (If you were to size me up to this chick, the trendiest thing I ever bought was a tank top. That's just great.)

I took a slow, easy stride when the sign to cross sounded. A taller boy - one I unfortunately knew - quickly pushed pass me, and yelled an apology when I was bumped into once again by an older gentleman (_Gentleman, my glorious ass!_) who was yelling,

* * *

"Uzumaki, Naruto. Age: 17. Hair color: blonde. Eye color: blue. Height: 171 cm. Weight: 54 kg. Notes," clack… clack. "orphan; living by himself; son to deceased Prime Minister."

* * *

"NARUTOOO. GET BACK HERE, YOU OWE ME SEVENTY-FIVE HUNDRED YEN'S WORTH OF RAMEEEEN." (3)

"I PROMISE I'LL PAY YOU BACK TOMORROW! I SWEAR IT!"

"YOU SAID THAT YESTERDAY!"

I stopped for a second time to stare at what just happened. I rolled my eyes. "Of course I have to be the one to know him…" I muttered to myself when my feet decided to get moving again.

"God, he's so annoying." I looked at the blonde this time from the corner of my eye. She was putting away her compact, and making a face at the disappearing Naruto up ahead.

A boy then came up beside her. I immediately noticed his narrow eyes and ponytail. "Eh, Naruto is always like that. We've been friends since we were little; he hasn't changed a bit."

"Shikamaru! Would you stop that?"

"Stop-"

* * *

"Nara, Shikamaru. Age: 17. Hair color: black. Eye color: brown. Height: 178 cm. Weight: 56 kg. Notes: Nara clan heir." Clack, clack.

* * *

"-what?"

"Sneaking up on me! Sheesh." The girl grabbed the boy's arm and began dragging him towards the curb. "Now make it up to me by coming with me shopping!"

"What? Argh, you troublesome woman-"

A light sprung up in my head. I remembered where I've seen the boy before: he's in my class.

_Guess I didn't recognize him because he's always with his chubby friend. I've never seen him with a girl before…_

Speaking of Shikamaru being a girl, the one he was with seemed strikingly familiar, but with all that make-up and perfume, I just couldn't recognize her. The street clothes didn't help either.

But before I could try to ask her if we had met before, she turned to the left after crossing the street with Shikamaru, and vanished with the other stylish girls shopping with their male companions.

A little disappointed, I begged to just be zapped home by someone.

I yawned and put my feet on auto-pilot. I let my eyes go out of focus and stare at the ground. After doing this hundreds of time over my high school career, I knew where I was going, and I knew there was nothing to see.

Buildings everywhere. To my left, to my right, behind me, in front of me. The smell of car exhaust and late afternoons. That guy with the slick hairdo will come out of his workplace with a bun that he eats with a bottle of water, and the hobo will beg that lady from the daycare across the street for money, in which she will hesitate, but give a 100 (4) yen anyway. Then that Chinese restaurant will be explode into nonsense because I can't understand Chinese at all, and the family there is constantly arguing.

I sighed. Typical.

A few feet from my building's entrance, I look up from the ground just in time to see a dark-haired boy walking the other way. I stopped. He looked up a second after, his pitch black eyes staring forward. The sullen orb then turned towards me with a blank expression, and my heart stopped.

_Oh my God._

Electricity flew up my spine; I let out a silent gasp-

* * *

"Uchiha, Sasuke. Age: 17. Hair color: black. Eye color: N/A. Height: 174 cm. Weight: 54 kg. Notes: Uchiha heir; lives alone."

* * *

Pale features, high cheek bone, and delicate strands of ebony blessing the sides of his face. His nose had the most perfect curve and angle and his eyebrows looked really good with his eyes with their arch. The boy's dark figure loomed over me with a uniform-clad body. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, his posture somewhat lax.

I bore my green into his black eyes for that split second, watching my reflection in them move very slowly.

_He has the loveliest eyes I've ever seen_, I thought when he looked away and went on walking.

My eyes followed his form, until he was out of sight. It wasn't until then that I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Konoha Academy…" I whispered, finally realizing that the boy's uniform was exactly the same as the white-eyed guy's I had bumped into.

That meant that tall, dark, and handsome was not only tall, dark, and handsome, he was rich.

Which also meant he was way out of my league.

I mentally slapped myself and walked into my apartment building. Of course he was way out of my league! That face was way too symmetrical and hot and handsome and sexy and absolutely PERFECT for anyone in my reach. I'm the bookworm, the nerd, the, "otaku" of my class. Hot doesn't even come close to my datable subjects.

Using my key, I pulled out my mail, and began shuffling through them on my way to the elevator. _Bill, bill, junk mail… more bills…_ I drew my eyebrows together when I got to the last letter of the bunch. I shoved the others under my armpit, and pressed the button for the sixth floor.

The odd letter was in the process of being opened as the elevator closed its door. The small thing began its journey up.

I took my time analyzing my new mysterious object. Its front read my address, but there wasn't a return address, nor was there a name to specify who it was to. I opened the piece of paper inside, but I quickly closed it again when the elevator opened to my floor.

I found myself holding my breath again as I turned the corner.

"O-Orochimaru-san!" (5) I whispered. "Good evening."

The man nodded, passing by me for the open elevator. He bent down in the corner of my eyes, picking something up. I kept up my pace, until a deep, somewhat silky, voice called, "You dropped… this…"

I turned around without a sound and stared at the small flash drive in his pale hand. Orochimaru looked at it, then at me, and a strange smile appeared on his lips.

_I don't know why but he's always…_ I continued to stare at the long-haired man on the hall. He simply stared back, and that's what was creepy. His eyes - so light in color they almost look yellow instead of brown - and the purple rings under them… _Crept me out. Why am I so scared? He's lived in the same building as us for years._

I made my way back to him and took the drive from him. I thanked him with a small bow.

"Thank you…"

"Of course… do be careful, that must be important…" he whispered in that Dracula-on-sex-drugs voice. "Have a nice day…"

I merely nodded before walking, jogging, then running to my apartment's door. I kept looking behind me as I struggled with my bags, the letter, the mail, and the actual keys.

_I only need two keys, but I still have that key from my parents that I kept for no particular reason! C'mon, find the right one! GAHH, don't drop the box!_

Once inside, I dropped everything on the kitchen table and locked the door. With that done, I let out a sigh of relief. I was home safe.

I put my stuff in my room, excluding one of the two bags I had been carrying this entire time. I left the mail on the table as well, but I ignored it for the bag.

Taking out the content of it - a box - I went rummaging for utensils and plates in the kitchen. I placed them all together, and as I walked towards the loneliest part of my house, I let everything go,

(school stress, my part-time job, all the money problems, my shame, the feeling of being alone, a mysterious letter with no return address, neighbors I believe should in a mental institution for being overly creepy, beautiful girls that could have anything they ever wanted, the fact I'm the only one in my grade who hasn't gotten her first kiss, the boring everyday routine, dreams of a better life, and _prettypretty_ boys with the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen)

-so that when I opened the last door in my home's hallway, and say, "Dad?" I make it seem like life is perfect.

"Dad, look, I bought some cake for us!" I chirp to the unconscious man on the bed. I took the seat next to the bed. "My boss said it was okay to take them; they were going to be thrown out anyway."

The gray-haired man says nothing.

Opening the lid to the white box, I take out two small slices of strawberry cake. Using a fork, I plop one onto one of the plates.

I place a piece onto the nightstand next to my father, and I place the other one on my lap.

"Anyway, school is going pretty good! I got an A on that test I mentioned yesterday. It was really hard, but I got it! Oh," I paused, smiling, "and I made friends with this girl! She always comes by the café to get some cake and water! I almost tripped and spilt water all over her today though! It was really funny."

In reality, I really did spill water all over her. And she was no where close to being my friend. The friends I had were pretty forgettable and don't ever go to eat at the café I work at.

I took a bite of the cake. It was good. "Mmm! This is good. We haven't had cake in a loooong time!"

Once again, silence.

I continued to chat happily about my day (lying as I go along) until I found nothing else to talk about except for…

"Hey, Dad?"

I stop for a moment like he answered with a gentle, "Hm?"

"I got this really strange letter in the mail. It's addressed to our address, but there isn't a name for who it's for. And there was a USB that came with it. Do you think maybe an old friend of yours from your computer-engineering days sent it to you without knowing you're…?" I stopped again. "Ah, never mind. It's nothing anyway."

I finished up my cake, and got up to clean. I gathered everything and placed it in the box to clean later. All that was left was Dad's portion of cake.

Picking up the box filled with dirty dishes, I leaned on my hand to kiss my dad's forehead (the one I inherited, apparently). I placed our matching foreheads together and smiled as I said, "Good night to you, Daddy, and happy birthday to me."

I quietly left the room, closing the door behind me. I dropped the box onto the kitchen counter (_I'm not in the mood to clean._) and as I exited, I glanced at the letter still folded up.

I snatched the USB and the letter with me into my room, where I placed it beside my computer. I took the next few hours to finish up some homework, and to get ready for bed.

When I managed to get into my bed, I buried my face into the pillow. Exhaustion overwhelmed me. My eyelids dragged as memories of a seven year-old girl hummed in my head, and how she celebrated her birthday: with her parents and friends, and with the sensation of being… full. The need to cry for some particular reason came up, but my eyes slid shut, and suddenly, I was gone.

* * *

"We got her." Clack, clack.

"Who?"

"Her! His child!"

Surprise. "Really? Let me see!"

"There she is."

"Oh, wow, she looks just like-"

"Her mother, I know. But that forehead is her father's; I'd know it anywhere. And her eyes are definitely Fuya's."

"… I miss them, but I don't want to bring their children into this…"

"I know. But we can't stop now - she just have to enter her in, and it will only be a matter of time…"

"I want to save this world too, but to force a bunch of children…? It's so wrong." Shame. "…Will you, or should I…?"

"…"

"Look, I'll do it for you, Number One, if you can't-"

"No, I'll do it. I was the one who loved Fuya, and let him go… and I know it's selfish of me, but if I can just get one piece of him, I'll drag anything, even this innocent girl, into our world!"

* * *

Click. Clack.

A USB jerked towards the edge of the desk it sat on.

Click. Clack.

Click. Cla- swoosh.

The small flash drive fell onto the carpeted ground, where it continued to move around on its own. The creature-like machine was searching for something.

And when it managed to throw off its covered connector, apparently it found it. The drive then shot itself straight for its desired location.

Click! Snap.

Suddenly, the computer flickered on. A young woman with cherry blossom-pink hair lay asleep only a few feet away; a single trail of tears marked her face. The sound of muted cars and music and angry shouts were blocked out and disappeared as noises erupted from the speakers of the machine.

"-ra? No - n't - dr - m - dau- in - is! Pl - se!"

Flash. Flash.

The screen began to display strange characters and words that made no sense, and it continued until finally, the screen shot out an eerie green light. The light focused itself into a thin vertical line and zeroed in onto the closest human form.

The strange voice went on at it, the sound beginning to resemble a human man's voice. The tone got more human as the words came out more understandable and the tone more desperate.

Flashing once again, the monitor read: "_Scanning…_". The light began at her feet, where it bled through the blanket and her clothing. It slowly waved over her, ending at the tips of her hair. Then the light dissipated.

"I'll - any - ing - just - on't - ake - her!"

Flash, flash.

The speakers cried out one final word before the screen faded back to black and the USB reappeared right were it was placed: "SAKURA!"

* * *

_  
Name: Haruno, Sakura. Age: 18. Hair color: pink. Eye color: green. Height: 165 cm. Weight: 45 kg. Notes: Master's daughter.  
_

* * *

"_Sakura." A pair of green eyes looked up._

_Black stared intently on her. "Huh?"_

"_Are you coming?"_

"…_where?" Her head tilted slightly._

_A pale hand stretched towards her. "To the world you were meant to come back to, obviously. We're waiting for you in paradise." _

_Those viridian orbs looked at the owner of those lovely black eyes and hesitated when she lifted her hand to take his. She stared at her hand going closer to his. The light shining from behind him became blinding the closer her fingertips got to his, the shadows of several others becoming more define. They kept calling her name, over and over._

_Paradise? she thought, Do I even want paradise? Green mixed with black once more._

_His stunning onyx eyes told her __**yes**__.  
_

* * *

**  
Welcome to our world.  
**

* * *

A/N: …I wrote all of this in a few days. It may have errors, it may not, so… yeah. Sorry. D:

(1): -shishou is similar to -sensei, but it's more like a mentor at a job rather than an actual teacher.

(2): -senpai means that whoever is being mentioned is an upperclassmen in school or in experience.(3): Yen is the currency of Japan. Naruto ate about seventy-five American dollars' worth of ramen, give or take.

(4): About one American dollar.

(5): -san is generally used for someone one doesn't know too well, or as a sign of respect.


	2. Chapter One: Taken

Disclaimer: NOT MINE.

A/N: Here we are! Another chapter. Enjoy!

Oh, and to those of you who disagree with my notes, as much as I appreciate being corrected, give me a reason please? Like maybe a source? (After six years of reading fan fiction, I'm like a stubborn old woman who won't give up her beliefs, haha.)

* * *

Beautiful World

Chapter One: Taken

* * *

I am currently standing in front of my closet mirror.

I am staring at my reflection.

A pair of army green cargo capris and a white shirt? Gray sneakers all messed up from years of wear? A simple gray jacket? A pair of snazzy goggles?

Yup. All good to go.

I sighed to myself. I grabbed a matching green hat, my messenger bag, and my dad's laptop, and walked into my dad's room to give him a quick kiss on the head.

"Bye, Dad! I'll see you later on tonight! Don't be too much of a hassle to the nurse, okay?" I smiled.

It's been two days since I first received the mysterious USB and letter. I haven't touched either since I got them - I was waiting for the weekend to come so I could have all the time in the world to fuss over both. I don't know what to expect and the stupid things have been bugging me all week.

I locked the door on my way out, and took the elevator down. Taking the letter out from my bag, I began to read:

"_Dear Haruno, _(1)

_We know it has been a long time since you have come to visit us. We miss you terribly._

_Any way, we need you and the others to help us. In this package, we have sent an USB flash drive. It should have all the components you need to open the door and its lock._

_We're waiting for you._

_Signed,_

_People of PARADISE_" (2)

I stared at the plain paper. It was neatly typed, and fairly short.

_People of paradise?_ I rolled my eyes. _What type of name is that? I swear, scammers will do anything to catch your eye…_

I fingered the USB in my pocket. I thought of the possibility that the thing may have a virus. Dad's laptop has a security system he set up himself (in other words, it's better than the majority of most security systems) and if it does get infected, most of the stuff Dad saved onto it was also on another USB that's in his safe in his closest hidden under a bunch of smelly socks and underwear.

He may be unconscious, and in a coma, but he's still a guy with stuff in his closest I will not touch without a pair of tongs in hand.

As I reached the automatic doors, I felt the sensation of being watched.

I turned sharply.

No one.

My eyes lingered around for a moment. Well, whoever it was, they had already hidden themselves, and I wasn't going to stop to look.

I continued reading the letter over and over. I couldn't see anything strange with it (other than the fact it was strange altogether). But I kept reminding myself that the word, 'paradise' was in all English capital letters. I also noted that the greeting was, "Dear Haruno," not, "Dear Haruno-sama," (3) like most of my dad's letters are addressed as. It was just Haruno.

_A little rude and overly-casual for a scam letter_, I mused.

I walked into the café next door to my apartment complex. I needed some coffee in a bad way, and I loved Tea On-the-Go's Idate's coffee.

The sound of the small bell I made when I entered triggered an immediate response.

"Welcome." I looked over my letter and smiled at the brown-haired boy behind the counter of the store - Idate. When he noticed it was me, his 'welcome-I-don't-give-a-dang', smile became a 'welcome-thank-God-you're-here', smile. "Sakura-san! Want the usual?"

"Yeah." I sat down in a seat next to the front window for light. It was my favorite spot - I always sat near the window.

"You're here early," Idate came up a few moments later, a playful smile on his face. He began pouring some of his freshly brewed (and infamously addicting) coffee into the mug he brought. "Usually you don't come around until noon."

I looked at my cell phone. "It's only eleven. What, you don't like seeing me first thing in the morning anymore?" I gave him a playful pout.

"Nah. Whatcha got there?"

I gave him the letter. He took it and took a moment to read. Placing the coffee pot down, he leaned onto the table. I saw his eyebrows scrunch up in confusion.

"'Open the door'? What the heck does that mean?"

"Beats me. If I knew what the door was, I'd know if it was safe to plug this USB into my dad's laptop."

"Can I see the USB?"

I handed the object to him. "Dang, this thing's pretty heavy." He turned it a few times in his palm, then added, "It looks like one of those USB's you can build yourself too. Someone spent some time building this from scratch."

"Really?"

"I'm no computer whiz, but I know what an flash drive looks like. I don't know, but I doubt any scammer would spend so much time on one drive just for one little customer."

"You have a point…"

"Besides, if you were a scammer, wouldn't you try spreading your scam to others rather than just on one person?"

"Right."

Idate gave back the letter and the USB. He picked the coffee pot up as the bell rang once more.

He turned towards the door. "Welcome!" Idate faced me again and winked. "I'll see you later, Sakura-san. Be careful with that USB."

"Yeah, yeah," I waved him off. _First Orochimaru-san, then Idate? Sheesh, it's like they think I'm not careful._

I nearly dropped the USB a second later.

And I swear, the thing must have giggled.

Thankfully, it didn't answer with flat-out words, like, "Yes, Sakura, I am totally making fun of you by trying to make you look bad".

I took out the laptop and set it onto the table. I booted it up and it automatically went searching for a signal for internet after it took forever to load. I caught the café's free WiFi (another reason why I come here) and logged in. I picked up the flash again and stared as the computer went through its connecting shenanigans.

_Connecting shenanigans? Oh God, I sound like Dad when he got frustrated with the computer._

The USB was a combo of two colors: white and red. The cover was red, and the body of the thing was both. I could see the inner workings of it through both colors, and for a second, I jumped - did the USB just _wink_ at me with one of the two lights that look like eyes?

I downed some coffee.

(First time I've ever became delusional from my crankiness, quite frankly.)

I put the device down, and went back to the computer.

It asked for a password, in which I skimmed through then clicked, "ENTER". I brought up the internet and typed in, "people of paradise".

After searching for a good thirty minutes (it seems that the 'people of paradise' are people who get paid to travel. I favored one of the sites because you never know) Idate came back with a cinnamon roll.

"Oh, thanks!" I said, taking a bite.

"No prob. Any luck with the, 'people of paradise'?"

I clicked to the eleventh page, and groaned. "None. It's all religious, travel, and stuff like that!"

"Well, have you tried the USB yet?"

"No. I don't plan to either."

Idate raised a brow. "Why not? You told me earlier that this computer couldn't broken into no matter what."

_I already told him that? Wow. I've known him since he began working here two years ago, so he'd obviously know by now that this thing is solid, I guess, _I thought.

I nodded, and glanced at the USB. The thing was taunting me - I know it was. "I know, but what if it's that bad? I don't want to have to pay for it to get fixed if it explodes…" I trailed off.

"Explodes?" Idate's brow stayed up. "Sakura-san, a virus isn't going to make your computer blow up."

"Well, you never know!"

He rolled his eyes. "Well, then I guess you'll never know either. Anyway, let me know if you need anything, okay?"

He walked off with a bowl of salad and a bowl of tomatoes and rice balls.

I didn't want to know who the hell wanted a bowl of sliced tomatoes.

"`kay. Thanks, Idate."

I nibbled on the cinnamon roll, contemplating if I should or should not plug the damn thing into my dad's beloved computer. I uncovered the flash drive's head, and I gave it a long, heavy once over. It didn't seem dangerous. Aside from the fact it was about as heavy as a small flashlight, (creepy) the thing seemed perfectly safe.

"Well, I might as well." I looked up to the stained ceiling. "God? Mom? If something does go horribly wrong, and this thing explodes, and I die… take care of my dad for me, please."

Oh, I could totally feel someone rolling their eyes at me.

Nevertheless, I took off the protective thing for the USB port on my dad's computer, and shoved the thing in. (That's what she said. Oh, I'm hilarious!)

And I waited. And waited. And ate my cinnamon roll. Which is very good because I bribe Idate with a good tip to get me the best and biggest roll. And I waited some more. Then I drank some coffee. And waited.

Suddenly, a window popped up on my screen. It took up a good size and its entirety window was black. Just black.

"What the heck?"

But within a second, the entire display went blank and the laptop's twelve inch screen began filling with strange symbols. The rate it was going at was way too fast for me to read everything. I couldn't look away from the moving white font as it stretched downwards.

(Just one of those moments when you're so stupefied you look like a complete moron to others because you can't pick up your jaw. I tend to have a lot of these moments, especially when the school's idiot likes to follow you around, performing stupefying/stupid things.)

After a minute or so, it stopped. I was able to read the last line of the window - "_Accessing seal…_"- before it disappeared.

The screen then showed me a rectangle that was supposed to be a door. There was white, "light" framing it, and it sparked at random times like there was something behind it making it brighter. I stared at it for a moment, waiting for the picture to replay itself, like most pictures/icons do, but it never did. Below it, more strange symbols.

I waited for any other type of reaction but none came. Taking a bite out of my food, I used the mouse pad to hover over the two, "words".

One made the door open slightly, the other did nothing.

_So one means to open the, 'door' and the other means… cancel, maybe?_

I leaned back, and cupped my chin with my index finger and my thumb. I didn't want to open the door just yet. What if it contained some kind of bizarre scam virus? It hasn't done anything to the actual computer, but as I stared at the lone door, I felt the same chill I had when I ran into Orochimaru a few days ago. I grabbed the letter again and reread it to myself.

Speaking of myself, which Haruno were they talking about? My name is Haruno like my dad, so maybe this USB is really mine…? (4)

I finished off the bun, and quickly began looking for a way to get out of the window so I could pack up to go home, and maybe head over to the hospital for some volunteer work. That type of thing usually gets my mind off of puzzles such as this one.

I went to the usual area where the cancel button was, but to my surprise, there was none. I tried the keyboard, but it didn't do a thing. I went all over the screen, only to return to the two sets of symbols.

"Oh, whatever," I cried, and I pulled at the USB.

It didn't budge.

I furrowed my brows, and pulled again. Nothing. I let out a cry of frustration and checked my cell phone for the time: 12:34 pm. (5)

I tried clicking the cancel button, but instead, I got something an error message, and it was in real Japanese: (6)

Error: Action not available.

_Action not available? What the hell, the action is right there!_ I glared at the computer's USB port. _Stupid thing_.

Next to the title of the error, an icon of a snake formed. _Probably the scammer's logo_, I scoffed to myself.

So then I tried turning the entire computer off. And for a second, my dad's laptop tried to turn itself off. But with one flicker of light from the USB, it didn't do anything. I felt my jaw drop.

_What type of USB did I plug into Dad's laptop?_

It didn't seem like I was getting out of the program any time soon without clicking the one thing I hadn't.

So I clicked the words I assumed to be "enter".

I watched as the door on the screen opened slowly, and as it got wider, light filled the screen.

Electricity flew up my spine.

The sound of a breeze blew past me.

I placed my fingertips in front of the speakers just to make sure it wasn't real. It sounded too real to be coming from that old thing. A slight sensation kissed my fingers for a moment, and the door opened completely.

Suddenly, I felt the urge to dive headfirst into the display, albeit I knew all I would get was a huge bruise on my forehead (like it wasn't noticeable enough). The rush of familiarity from the picture on the screen made my heart stop.

When my heart came back to life, it wouldn't stop pounding.

"It's a map."

"Eep!"

I snapped my head to my right, just to see Idate looking over my shoulder.

"Maybe this is where the people of Paradise come from! I mean, it does say, "PARADISE" right there, doesn't it?"

"Idate! Stop looking!"

"What? It's just a scam."

"No!" I gasped. I paused for moment to ask myself why I felt like this was supposed to be some huge secret, but some reason, I just knew. "It's just, I… uh… this is a personal animation file of mine! It's my… um, computer science project! Yeah! You weren't supposed to see it yet!"

Yeah, I'm coy.

"What? Really? Wait, you don't even take computer science!"

"Well, I do now!"

I quickly stood, slapping some money onto the table, and shoved the entire laptop (USB attached and all) into my bag.

"Later, Idate-san!"

Idate's weak reply was barely heard, but I caught it anyway. I stormed out of the café and made my way to my apartment.

_**Sakura**_.

I stopped right as the automatic doors to my apartment building opened.

Was I hearing things again? Apparently I was, because no one else was looking around strangely because some goddess-like voice was talking to them in their head.

_**Sakura**_, the voice repeated, _**open your eyes. The door, the door!**_

My eyes widened. The door? _You mean the door to Paradise, or whatever? No wait, who the hell are you? I'm pretty sure I didn't make you, nor do I have any social problems like I did when I was younger that would force me to unconsciously make one, and-_

_**Look to the sky, Sakura**__._

Being the obedient kid I am, I looked skyward. My eyes nearly disappeared into the back of my head when I saw a huge gaping hole in the sky.

And to make things worse, it looked like that one portal from Digimon, but in a more space-time continum-like fashion.

_Right, Sakura. You see a digitalized-looking portal in the sky, and you immediately make references to a late 90s' cartoon and to scientific theories._

_**Go to the door, Sakura. Hurry, before it closes, Sakura, go to the door!**_

_How is it even a door? It's a hole in the sky._

I sighed. My eyes stuck to the giant entrance, my feet began moving towards it.

I bumped into people without so much as an "excuse me". I couldn't look away from the darn thing. My head felt fuzzy and I didn't even realize that there was someone moving just as fast as me.

"You see it too?"

By the time I heard her, the two of us were in a full-out run.

(Did I mention I hate running? Well I do. At lot. But that's beside the point.)

My eyes widened slightly at the person who I had only met formally two days ago. "Nakamura-senpai?"

Said girl rolled her eyes. "I hate my last name. Just call me Tenten. So, do you or do you not see that giant door-thing?"

_Well, I guess I'm not crazy for calling it a door. _

After a moment, I panted out, "Yeah, I do!"

Tenten, who was known in several sport circuits as a beast, had no trouble responding in a normal tone, "Great! And look, we have company!"

"Sakura-chan!" (7)

"Naruto?"

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" a grinning blonde with whisker-like scars on his face came up beside me. "Funny meeting you here!"

He was clad in a bright orange jogging outfit. His hair was all over the place like he had just woken up. On the other side of me, Tenten looked like she just came from a Chinese restaurant (red silk dress and all), or maybe a costume party. And me? I looked like a nerd. People could not help but stare at the three of us practically running in a line.

"Hehe, yeah!" I replied, a bit irritated. Why the hell was I the only one who was tired from running?

We continued to run until we were in the largest park in the Konoha area - Konoha City Park.

Konoha was well-known in Tokyo for being the greenest, and most environmentally conscious, so the park was unusually large for someone who wasn't raised in Konoha. About as big as nine city blocks, no one could see inside of it from the outside, and you'd think you were inside a forest if you were inside it. There were paths to prevent getting lost; gates blocked off denser parts of the park to help people from getting lost too.

And seeing as the door thing was hovering right over the densest and more dangerous part of the park, we stopped.

"Do we have to go in there?" I gasped from lack of air.

Tenten stared at the sign beside the gate, reading, "DO NOT ENTER". She then looked above the gate, and at the digital door. I gazed up at it as well, slightly amazed.

It looked kind of cool. It was all swirly, and junk. Now that I stared at it, it did look like the door from my laptop, but circular. The light was there and everything.

(I'm a great describer. Sue me.)

"I can easily jump this fence," Tenten admitted, grasping the metal of the blockade, "but I'm not sure if I should. Guards patrol this park like dogs, and if we're caught, we'll be in major trouble. Last time someone jumped the fence, they were kept in jail for a week."

Naruto was already climbing the darn thing.

"Naruto! Get down from there! What if a guard sees you?" I tried to pull him off.

He grinned at me. "Aww, Sakura-chan, lighten up! We won't get caught! Besides, doesn't this door sound pretty cool? We might actually get to do something fun!"

"Naruto-! Wait, Tenten-senpai!" Tenten had also started climbing, and motioned me to do the same.

"C'mon, Sakura, before we get caught, let's go! I know this sounds crazy, but I kind of want to see this "door"… and don't call me that, it sounds funny. Just call me Tenten!" the brunette said in a rush, trying to reach the top of the fence.

I bit my lower lip before looking up again, then at my bag.

I couldn't just leave… what if I take a long time to come back? Who will pay the bills that are due tomorrow? What about school? Will I miss it? And my dad, I just can't leave him!

_Mom… What should I do?_

But I couldn't think anymore. "Hey! What are you kids doing?"

My hair swung as I spotted a man in a dark blue uniform.

_A guard! _

Tenten swore to herself. "C'mon, Sakura! Let's go!"

"Oh crap! Sakura-chan, hurry!" Naruto threw his hand at me. "C'mon!"

I stared at his hand for a moment before looking back at the officer running towards us. I couldn't just stand still, what would I tell the man? That I was just watching? No way, that would sound cruddy. But if I go, what will happen?

I thought about my school reputation. My tutor, Tsunade. My part-time job. My friends. I thought about my dad at home.

I gritted my teeth, and took Naruto's hand.

_I can't get caught by the police. My dad's life depends on it. My life depends on it!_

He instantly grabbed onto me, and practically threw me over the fence. I landed on my back with a loud grunt after a slight tumble.

Naruto scrambled over, came to my side, and helped me up. "You okay, Sakura-chan? Sorry I threw you but-"

I interrupted him with a snap, "I'm fine. A bruise won't kill me."

As the guard appeared in front of the part we jumped, Naruto and I stood there, and Tenten landed on our side.

"Get out of there, you kids! It's not safe!" the guard shouted. "Don't make me follow you!"

We ignored him as Tenten soared past the two of us, grabbing both our wrists. "Wake up, you two! Run!"

The man quickly began to climb the barrier as well; he was talking into his radio loud enough for me to hear.

"We have a group of minors trespassing in Blocked-Off Area One, in Sector Five. Pursuing! Over."

I struggled to keep up with Tenten's speed (_Holy bananas, this girl is really fast! No wonder she's called the Dragon of Konoha High!_) as she rocketed through the dense brush like she was a ninja. I looked over my shoulder to see the guard was disappearing behind the trees, but his voice still echoed.

I gnaw on my lip.

_I can't get caught._

Tenten slowly came to a halt when the trees began to lessen and eventually cease into an opening. The place was littered with rocks; most of them were about the size of a small house. The glaring hole in the sky - "Dang, it looks like my foster dad's mouth!" - was almost directly above us. It was casting a strange rainbow-ish/light shadow over the rocks, and seemed to pool around the bottom like water.

The three of us looked at each other, asking the silent question: run for cover behind the rock, but also get under the shadow, or give ourselves up?

I could still hear the guard's radio as it scratched out, "We have five other minors heading into Sector Five! I repeat, we have five other-" and it got louder as we stayed motionless.

_I can't!_

I took the first step under the weird shadow; it literally made a morphing sound underneath my feet. It moved like shining, white-ish, rainbow-colored water. I quickly made for one of the bigger rocks to hide behind.

_**Sakura**_.

I jumped at the voice. _Oh, not you again! I got to the door, okay? Now what? Tell me why I made you in my head!_

The voice didn't answer the latter of my questions. _**Wait for the others… the door needs all of you to open. When they come, the circuit will be complete.**_

"The circuit?"

"Woah, this is weird!"

"Tenten!" I turned, the voice suddenly silent. "You mean the white stuff?"

"Yeah… it's not natural."

Naruto squatted and analyzed the floor. He poked the earth with his finger.

"Naruto, don't touch it! We don't know what it is!"

"It's like the pictures you get from the computer. They're made up of… what's the word again? Pixels!"

Tenten and I looked at each other before bending down to examine the ground for ourselves. To my amazement, Naruto - for once - was right. The entire shadow of the door was made up of pixels programmed to move and be colored like water. I hand my hand across it, and it rippled perfectly, despite it feeling like the regular dirt underneath the shadow.

I stood, and looked around. I explored a bit, making sure I was hidden from the forest behind the mammoth rocks. They were everywhere, so it wasn't particularly hard.

I touched a particularly flat rock with what seemed like scratch marks on it. It looked familiar. I frowned.

_Why do I get the feeling I've been here before? This area was deemed unsafe before I was even one years old because of an earthquake._ I looked around some more. _I wonder why they keep it closed? It's been seventeen years since it happened._

Meanwhile, the guard was looking around. For some strange reason, though he was right at the border of the shadow, he didn't seem to see us. He began talking to himself.

"Where are those kids? I could've sworn they ran into this part of the forest!"

He held up his radio after looking around some more (never once stepping into the shadow's lines). "This is Officer Nakamori, reporting the first group of minors to enter the restricted area have vanished into the Chamber. I repeat, the student have entered what is called, the Hole."

Naruto seemed to have heard the man talking, and squinted his eyes. "The Chamber? What does he mean by- oof!" the blonde boy cursed to himself, and said, "What the hell's this hole doing here? And what's with this- hey, there's writing on here!"

I walked over to where Naruto was, and stared at the hole he had mentioned. It was small (about the size of a coffee mug) and inside was an old, faded, carved design of some kind. I looked over my shoulder towards the guard, then proceeded to clear away the rocks and dirt that had covered over it.

"Is that a… 'b'?" Tenten traced the marking with her finger.

"No way! It's a 'd'!" Naruto loudly commented, throwing his arms behind his head. He grinned, then proudly stated, "English is my best subject! Got a four in it! And that makes it my favorite!" (8)

Tenten gave him a look. "According to your placement scores, Naruto-san, I have rights to doubt that."

"EH! Those don't matter! I get nervous during exam week! I always try to study the night before, but-"

"You always end up falling asleep mid-exam," I scoffed, not taking my eyes off the carving. I would know that he falls asleep, seeing as I sit right next to him in class.

"Sakura-chaaan! You're not supposed to tell her that!"

As Tenten and Naruto began to chitchat, feeling a bit more comfortable now that the policeman had strolled out of area, I looked at the marking buried in the ground.

Looking straight up, I noted that we were indeed dead center of the clearing, and of the door. The stone may be worn, but the letter was still too precisely drawn for it to be some random piece of work drawn by some passerby through my eyes.

I slowly turned myself around it, and my eyes widened. I quickly went for my bag, and pulled out the letter from the scammers.

"It's a 'p'," I said to the others. "An English capital P."

Holding up my letter to the stone, I compared the letter's signature (_People of PARADISE_) and the carving. Though the hole's version was missing some details, it was almost a perfect match.

Tenten stared at the paper, then at the ground. "It's a match! Where'd you get this?"

"The mail. Someone sent it to my apartment, addressed to my dad."

"You got one too? I thought it this was just a piece of junk mail, but," Naruto blinked, pulling a wrinkled piece of folded paper from his pocket, "I never got a piece of junk mail calling me the 'future Prime Minister's son' as the title, so I kept it."

"Let me see that," I said, snatching the paper out of his hand. I skimmed the letter. It was just as casual - if not cruder - than my letter. After realizing the fact the letter gave the same information mine did, I asked in my head, _What is this? Some type of elaborate scam?_

I turned again. "Naruto, did this come with a flash drive?"

"Y-Yeah," he said, a little shocked. He squinted as he sat down next to me. "How did you know that?"

"Because I have one too-"

"Hey. Naruto."

I looked up from the letter, and saw Shikamaru standing there. Trailing behind him was a blonde girl dressed in a very stylish black skirt and purple blouse.

"Shika! Stop walking so fast! These heels weren't meant for running!"

Naruto turned away from me and grinned at his friend. He gestured towards his female companion. "Hey, Shikamaru. Who's the hot chick?"

I glared at Naruto for using the term, "chick", and was about to open my mouth to make him reword his sentence, but the other girl beat me to it.

"Excuse me! I prefer to be called a, "beautiful girl" if you must know," she placed her hands on her hips, and bent down to look at Naruto, "Blondie."

Naruto was instantly on her feet. "WHAT."

"Her name's Ino, Naruto," the dark-haired Shikamaru interrupted.

I looked at them, then at the letter in my hand. I wondered if they got a letter too.

"Did anyone here get a letter…?" Tenten asked, like she had read my mind. I held out Naruto's letter as an example.

Shikamaru shook his head, but the blonde girl, Ino, nodded. She shuffled through her purse, and pulled out a piece of paper.

"And an USB?"

After some more digging through that little Coach bag, Ino held out an USB as well.

I was about to ask how she got her paper and device, but she broke into a smile, and ran behind me. She seemed to be talking to someone, but I never found out.

I stiffened when I felt a tremble beneath my feet.

_Oh God, no. Not now._

At that very moment, things were suddenly thrown into chaos.

I gasped as the ground exploded into quakes, and the air around the five of us began to swirl. Stray stones and rocks fell from twenty feet up from the taller rocks, and cracks appeared beneath us, causing me to trip onto the ground. The earth and water-like shadow moved under my fingers. The rumbling was so loud that I could barely hear Naruto calling my name.

My hair fell over my shoulder, then blew straight backwards from the wind being pulled upwards like a vacuum. I followed my hair's directions and stared at the sky.

"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan, where are you?"

I heard a high-pitched shriek.

The earth continued to crack and move beneath our feet.

My eyes narrowed at the portal in the sky. It was opening, causing the wind's velocity to rise as it did so.

And more screams. "Hinata-sama!"

"Neji-nii-san!" (9)

I saw a small figure being sucked up into the air steadily. Her pretty little summer dress was all over the place as she reached towards the ground. A boy with matching light skin was slowly growing farther away.

I stared in amazement as the boy leaped onto a nearby rock (which shattered a second after his foot left it) and shot straight towards her. But instead of catching up to her, he was slowed down, and was also beginning to be sucked up into the door above.

Standing up shakily, I spotted a flash of yellow as the suction suddenly went up a notch. I flinched, and squeezed my eyes shut to avoid my flying hair. I struggled to keep my feet on the ground, but the rumbling of the earth made it incredibly hard. I could feel my body being tugged upwards, the wind blowing twice as violently as it had started, and I scrambled for some kind of hold.

I managed to find a rock, but its strangely smoothed sides made it impossible to grab.

With one final pull, I was lifted off my feet, and began floating skywards.

I screamed.

_Why is this happening to me? Why?_

I flailed my arms, and tried to push my weight down, but power this door was making was far greater. After a few moments, I realized that I was below the others. I could hear panicked (and very irritated) yells from above me.

"Get your filthy hands off of her!"

"Neji-nii-san! A-At least he tried to s-s-save me! Please, don't b-b-blame him!" (10)

"Hey, shut it, White-Eyes! You should be thanking me for saving her! Sakura-chan, where are you?"

"KYAAA!"

"Ino, stop your screaming! I'd like to have my hearing when I die!"

"SHUT UP, SHIKAMARU! KYAAA!"

"Give her to me! There's no way I'm leaving her to the likes of someone who goes to a public Konoha school!"

"Neji-nii-san!"

"Sakura-chan! Where is she? And what if I say no?"

"Please, N-Neji-nii-san, I'm fine, r-really!"

"Hinata-sama, please-"

"See? She said no!"

"Shut up, you insignificant-"

"Hey, lay off! Now is not the time to argue about who protects who! Besides, it's not like because you go to Konoha Academy that you're better than us, Hyuuga-san!"

"You tell him, Tenten!"

"You can't say anything either, Naruto. Don't go off on someone you know nothing about!"

"OH MY GOD."

As I stared at the door Ino had very discreetly screamed at, I felt my heart being shoved into my throat. The door was almost completely open, much like it had on my computer. Light flowed out, instantly blinding all of us, just proving to me how close we were.

(A bit odd, seeing as we were going pretty slow, and I could see how we could travel all the way to the sky so fast.)

I squinted, and could barely make out Naruto huddling over a dark-haired girl, as two other figures chased after them. I saw Shikamaru with Ino; she appeared to be crying or attempting to hide on his shoulder.

Then it was my turn.

I turned away to save my eyes, only to spot a pair of familiar black eyes when I looked behind me. My jaw loosened and fell as I stared at them, and whispered, "It's you…"

…_the boy with the beautiful eyes! He's here too?_

The owner of these eyes gazed up at me before making one strong motion with his arms. He instantaneously caught up with me, and said in a soft voice with a hard tone, "Hold on."

I was drawn into a pair arms as the opened door then let us in, the light overtaking us. Once again, I screamed.

The light felt like warmth, a sweet breeze, and love.

_**

* * *

**_

_**Welcome to our world… Haruno.**_

* * *

A/N: DONE. Finally! D: And I'm really sorry about all these notes, but after a few more chapters, there won't be so many.

(1) No name suffix on a last name:  
From what I've learned, an absence of an name suffix usually means either an insult, or familiarity. It's considered disrespectful when you call someone by their last name ONLY in Japan, and you don't know said person very well. In this case, Sakura believes the letter is from a scammer, thus making the Haruno's customers, correct? It's especially strange to her, since a seller should be very respectful to his potential customers.

(2) English letters in Japan:  
The Japanese are almost always required to learn English in school. (Maybe not so much elementary school students, but middle school and up, usually yes.) So, yes, Sakura can read English to a certain extent. To her, the signature probably would have read this: "ＰＡＲＡＤＩＳＥの民族 ". Obviously it would have caught her eye.

(3) -sama:  
A name suffix. This term is more formal to use. This term is usually used for someone you hold in high regard, or for someone you HAVE to hold in high regard. There are other name suffixes that show high respect, this is just one of them.

(4) Being called by your last name:  
In Japan, unless you're close, you usually call each other by last names with a name suffix (mostly -san or -sama) as, once again, a sign of respect. When you use someone's last name, you could be referring to anyone with said last name unless you specify with a first name, or some sort of name suffix that makes it obvious who you're referring to.

(5) 12 hour time Vs. 24 hour time:  
Japan uses the 24 hour time system. I'll be using the 12 hour one.

(6) Language:  
This story is based in Japan, so yes, I may be using Japanese occasionally. I am not fluent in the language (I hope to be! D:) so I may get things mixed up. Sorry about that. But for the most part, this story will be in English.

(7) -chan:  
A name suffix. This suffix is more informal to use. This one is generally used (from my knowledge) for one) younger children and babies, two) a girl that one is socially comfortable with, or three) to make a name cuter. (i.e. Takeshi-chan. Takeshi is a boy's name, and when one hears a boy being called this, it's usually either a family member calling him, a friend who's a girl and wants to call him something cute, or a friend that's trying to insult him with a pet nickname… I think.)

(8) Japanese Schools' Grading System:  
Unlike Americans, who use letters like A, B, or C to grade students, Japanese use the numbers 1-5. 5 is the equivalent to an A. So, in this case, Naruto got a B in English, which is pretty good.

(9) Nii-san:  
Nii is the term for "older brother". Now this term is not exclusively for one's brother - it can be used for males that are older than you, or for boys/men that you see in a brotherly manner. You can also interchange the name-suffix. Some of the ones I've seen are -chan, or -sama. In Hinata's situation, she's using the term for her older cousin, which is also acceptable. This is not the only term for an elder brother. (Note: this term isn't used for men that are significantly older than you.)


	3. Chapter Two: Arrival

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I SAID IT. Don't sue me! D:

A/N: … BEWARE OF TYPOS. I REREAD IT, BUT MY SLEEP-DEPRIEVED BRAIN PROBABLY MISSED MOST OF THEM. AND THERE MIGHT BE CONFUSION.

* * *

Chapter Two: Arrival

* * *

"Ugh, my head…" I groaned, rubbing my head. I slowly opened my eyes, and yelped when I looked around me.

There was no ground.

I was floating.

My eyes trailed downward nervously , and I heard myself take in a quick breath of air.

It looked like space. Black everywhere, with small points one could assume were stars and planets… it was similar to being in the middle of a observatory. It looked kind of nice, but I honestly was not in the mood for star-gazing.

I pressed the ground with my hands to make sure it was stable, and cautiously got up. I wobbled a bit because of my bag. I bounced a bit, and found whatever I was standing on, firm. It was some kind of round platform, and it glowed with a small light.

_Where am I exactly? The only thing I remember was being in Konoha Park, and being forced to go through the Digimon-like portal… and that guy with the black eyes. _

I gave my surroundings another once to see if Mr. Lovely Eyes was anywhere I could see. Seeing nothing, I thought, _I might have hurt him. I practically drilled my nails into his arms since I was scared shitless… _

(Should have done what that Ino girl did with Shikamaru… damn.)

Once I realized I was standing there like an idiot, dazing out into space, I slapped my cheeks, and huffed quietly, "Now is NOT the time to be obsessing over a really hot guy!"

I looked around again, said hesitantly, "Hello…?"

My voice echoed into the distance.

I sighed.

A small comet appeared in front of me. I coughed and shooed it away like it was a fly.

"What the heck is this place?"

A second later, I spotted another platform a foot, or two, away - an easy jumping distance for someone like me.

With a hop, I jumped to my only other escape. Then another platform appeared. I jumped. Then another showed up. Jump. Another appeared. (Even though I didn't know where the heck I was going, couldn't be worse than standing alone.) I kept jumping, until I had the hang of it.

Suddenly, a _space ship_ flew by, and caused the platform I had been standing on to fall to pieces.

I fell into oblivion with a gasp. Suddenly, the endless black gave way to the color of a dimly lit hole. The hole I fell through closed up as I left it.

"Oof!" I grunted, and rubbed my sore butt.

I glanced at my new surroundings: a cave. Several lights lit the way through it; I could see the end of the tunnel. The tunnel wasn't very big, and I found that standing straight up would not be an option here.

_I have to get out of here!_

As I got up, something to my left caught my eye. I then found myself staring straight into the eyes of a beast. Big, beady black eyes blinked. My jaw dropped slightly, and I whispered, "A dragon?" I eyed the green wings before I, well… simply began running for my life.

"What the heck is this place?" I screamed.

I got an answer this time.

"I don't know!" another person shouted.

I looked to my right to find Tenten, running a million miles per hour away from the same dragon thing I was.

Suddenly, my back felt very hot… I turned and saw a burst of fire burning through the cave hole, and towards the two of us.

"Oh my God!"

We kept running. The flame had died down, but the dragon thing still chased.

"Worry not, fair maidens! I, Tsuchimoto Rei the Valiant, SHALL SAVE YOU!" a guy with tiny specs for eyes said out of nowhere. With his sword, he fought the dragon.

Tenten and I stopped, took a breather, then looked at him, and finally looked at each other. We screamed, finishing off by running into the light.

I closed my eyes, thinking _What kind of place is this?_

Suddenly, I was weightless, and falling again. My back landed once more onto something solid a second later. I didn't feel any pain.

I got up slowly, not wanting to fall again. That's when I got a good look at my surroundings.

The place didn't exactly have a temperature; it was warm and cold at the same time. The air was heavy, and the sound of exotic birds (or exotic _something_) echoed throughout the area. Light barely made its way through the canopy of leaves, but I could see how blue the sky was. Strangely colored trees, shrubs, and other plants were scattered on either side of me, making what looked like a dirt road. It appeared as if the plants were making a tunnel: the right was dark, and completely covered with vegetation, while the left let the plants open to what seemed like endless fields of trees and grass. In the distance, I spotted smoke and green hills.

Overall, it was very nice, albeit the weirdest combination of a rural and a tropical landscape.

Tenten groaned as she got up.

"First, I was in some sort of airplane, then I got pushed off with a parachute that appeared on my back, then I end up in a cave, and now we're here! What type of place is this?" she rubbed her head as she stood.

"I don't know… I think we should try to find the others. They couldn't have fallen farther than we have."

"Right," Tenten nodded, looking around as well.

I turned when I heard the sharp clicking of hooves.

"Hey! Get outta the way, you whipper snappers! I gotta get my corn to market!"

A short old man on a rickety horse-driven cart appeared from behind us. Tenten and I dodged, but not without the old man throwing his fists into the air and screaming, "You twerps should know better! Standing in the middle of a busy trading route!" as he sped away.

I glanced at Tenten, who glanced back.

"I guess there are more people here."

"Yeah… wherever, 'here' is."

"Well, wherever he was going, I think we should too. There's bound to be more people," I said, following the route the old man had taken. "And hopefully some information on where the hell we are."

Tenten nodded, and we slowly headed towards the smoke rising in the distance.

* * *

"So you're saying you were in space?"

"Yeah. I just… woke up there. I have no idea how, but I was just there."

"I know, so was I… this place just gets creepier, and creepier," Tenten commented when we finally made it into what looked like a town - people were everywhere, bustling left and right.

Salesmen from the sides of the main road were calling out deals. And it seemed like some sort of festival was going on, as entertainers walked and danced through the streets with streamers colored purple and green. A man on stilts waltzed by us, and we narrowly missed his legs. The loud noises and pushing was horrendous.

"Fresh meat, and vegetables!"

"Come in, come in! The finest selection of rare jewels and necklaces!"

"A new shipment of the newest fashions! Refreshing green and mysterious purple capes are available!"

People didn't seem to notice us too badly. I took note of their fashions, and I frowned. Were we transported back in time or something? Seeing the bonnets, the length of the skirts, the men's shoes, and their hairstyles, everything was styled like Europe or America in the 1700s.

But no made a big deal of us, like you'd think they would. I overheard a girl whisper, "They must be from Kushina-sama's land."

"Sakura, grab my hand, let's head towards the sidelines. It might not be as busy there!" Tenten cried over the voices and laughter. She reached for my hand, and I took it, and the two of us wormed towards the closest building.

I didn't know what it was about this town, but it felt familiar. The cobblestone road, the loud voices, the colors of the streamers and decorations… they all felt very familiar. Like I had been there before. It was the same feeling I had gotten before the door had opened and sucked me into this crazy world.

The pushing continued, and we were quickly shoved into one of the stores off the main road. I shut the door behind us, and took a breather. I looked up, panting lightly, when a young woman - twenty-something maybe? - came out of the back of the store.

"Welcome-!"

I stood up straight from my hunched over position.

"Yeah, sorry about the sudden intrusion, but we had to get out of that mess!" I breathed. But she just stood there, dumbfounded. Her mouth hung open, and I found myself doing the exact same thing.

Right as I was about to open the door again to make a quick exit, she whispered, "Akiko-sama?"

It was quiet for a moment before I realized the woman was talking to me. I pointed at myself, and gaped. "Me?"

The woman immediately jumped me, and began to scream: "AKIKO-SAMA! YOU'VE COME BACK!"

Her strong grip choked me. I gasped out, trying to explain I wasn't this, 'Akiko-sama', but her screams and her death grip would have none of it.

"Oh, Tarou! Tarou, come out here, look who finally came back for us!"

I sent a took towards Tenten. She didn't seem to know what to do until this so-called, "Tarou" came out.

"Wait, her name is Sakura, not Akiko-"

"What is it, Mimori…?" a strong-looking man appeared from the back of the shop. His eyes set onto the woman, then on me. "Akiko-sama?"

The brown-haired girl squealed, and dragged me towards the man.

"I told you she would come back for us! Akiko-sama always keeps her promises-" she gushed.

The man's solid brown eyes studied me for a moment, the hope that had appeared when he first saw me fading into nothing. "You're not Akiko-sama."

Mimori's face became confused. "Huh? Tarou, how dare you insult her? I am so sorry, Akiko-sama, I-" then the girl, Mimori, also studied my face, and gasped. "You're not Akiko-sama."

She let me go, and I took a breath. "Yeah, that's what she said!" I gestured towards Tenten, and said in a slightly angered tone, "My name is Sakura!"

"Oh," Mimori whispered, her hands covering her lips. I noticed the sudden sheen in her eyes - she looked like she was about to cry.

I suddenly began to feel bad; I didn't mean to make her cry.

The man, Tarou, hugged the girl, and stroked her hair as she became to sob. He whispered something into her ear, and told her to go upstairs. She nodded, and rushed off. Tarou went for the door behind me, and switched the sign that had said, "Open" to "Closed".

He turned, and said to Tenten and I, "I apologize for my wife's behavior. As an apology, we would love it if you had tea with us."

Tenten and I looked at one another. I spoke slowly. "Well, that would be nice. We're… new in town, and we would like some information, please."

Tarou nodded, and went for the curtain dividing the back from the store. He lifted it for us, and he nodded his head towards the back. "Of course. For the trouble we caused, please, come in."

* * *

The back was small. It only consisted of a kitchen and a pair of stairs that went both up and down. Unlike the bright and vibrant colors of the store, it was dull and drab in the back. We were seated at a dull, grayish-brown table (only meant to seat two, three if you pushed it), and Tarou served us some steaming tea in a pair of small cups.

"Here you go."

"Thank you."

Tarou pulled up an extra seat beside us. After a moment of silence, he looked at us suspiciously.

"I know we've established the fact you're not Akiko-sama, but… I have to ask - both for my sake, and for the sake of my wife's sanity - who are you? Both of you?"

"Nakamura Tenten." (1)

I took a sip of tea. It was very good, but I preferred more sugar. "My name's Haruno Sakura."

Tarou's eyes widened. "Ha-Haruno?"

I looked at him strangely, and nodded.

"And you say your name isn't Akiko?"

My frustration suddenly rose. I always felt uncomfortable when someone mentioned the name Akiko, but it felt twice as irritating when someone kept calling me by the name!

"I said no! Akiko was my mother's name!"

At this, the brunette's brown eyes almost fell out of his head. He also seemed to have choked on his spit when he stood, and slammed his hands onto the table. Tenten jumped in shock, and I leaned away.

"Excuse me? Did you just say your mother's name was _Akiko_?"

I groaned a bit, and said, finally mad. "Yes."

"And your last name is _Haruno_?"

"YES."

Tarou stared at me for what felt like forever. I could tell he was studying me, trying to see if I was lying (which I wasn't). Realizing I was telling the truth, he backed away from the table, and said lowly, "Forgive me. I'll answer your questions once I return, but I need to check on Mimori."

He left without another word.

Groaning, I shoved my bag onto the table, and rubbed my sore shoulder. "God, this thing is heavy."

Tenten ignored my complaints. "What was that all about?"

"I don't know," I said quietly.

I suddenly didn't want to talk. Every time my parents were mentioned, my urge to chit chat always reduced to zero. Tenten didn't seem to sense this, but she changed the subject anyway.

"What's in the bag?"

I pulled out the laptop, slightly relieved that it was still in once piece (seeing as I fell three times).

"Oh, I see. Does it work?"

I blinked.

"Great idea, Tenten! Maybe we can use this to tell if we were transported back in time or something!"

Tenten also blinked. "Uh… not what I was referring to, but go for it!"

And so I did. My computer's screen was back to black, and when I tugged at the USB on the side, it came right off. I threw the thing back into my bag, booted my computer up, and watched the screen flicker on. I went for the Internet button, and to my surprise…

"Oh my God, it works."

Tenten's jaw dropped. "No way! How can it be working?"

I shrugged, my mouth wide open. I surfed the web for a moment. I typed in paradise, and the same results came up from when I was at the café.

"I'm gonna try sending an email," I said. I went to my email's server, and emailed one of the people I knew that lived close to the police station. I typed a quick message - "Kanako-san, please reply!" - and hit send. After a second or two, it was denied, and it stated, "Message unable to be sent. Please try again."

I tried twenty more times, but still nothing. I even tried different people, different servers, but nothing worked.

"Emailing isn't working, but the Internet is?" I looked around, confused. "What is this place?"

Tenten furrowed her brows. "Is this some sort of game?"

I looked around. Everything seemed completely unmodern. No WiFi, or Internet hook-up. How could my laptop have internet at all?

"But Tarou, how can it be possible? Akiko-sama and Fuya-sama were our age when they left, and it's only been six years! This girl looks like she's a teenager-"

Mimori stopped speaking when she saw I was looking at her. She squeaked, and looked away. Tarou, on the other hand, didn't stop.

"But Mimori, her resemblance to them is undeniable - her face may be Akiko-sama's but her eyes are all Fuya-sama. And her name! Didn't Akiko-sama say she always wanted to name her daughter Sakura?"

"Well, yes, but still! Maybe it's just a coincidence?"

"Mimi, how could you-?"

"Excuse me, what are you two talking about?" I cut in.

_Uh, hello? Subject of your conversation, right here!_

The pair's faces suddenly looked guilty.

"Well?"

Mimori bit her lower lip. She walked down the stairs, apparently coming from the upstairs chambers, and held out her arms. She motioned me to come within her reach.

I hesitated.

"Please, Sakura-chan. Just let me look at you." (2)

Caving to the plea, I stood, and walked up to the woman. She placed her hands on my shoulders, and looked me square in the eyes. Her rough fingertips cradled my face, a strand of my hair, and her eyes measured me. She was suspiciously gentle with me; it was almost like she was afraid I'd shatter right then and there. In the end she ended up back where she started.

"You have your father's eyes," she said quietly, "Your mother had blue eyes, and your father had green."

"I know. And I got his forehead." I commented dryly, lifting my hair.

She bit her lips again. "Impossible." She took two steps back. "Impossible," she repeated, her eyes glossy again.

"What? Could you two please answer our questions? Or at least explain to us what the heck you two are talking about?"

Wiping her eyes, Mimori held her husband back from explaining. "No, let me."

I gave her an expectant look.

She paused, before saying, "Are you… is Haruno Fuya your father? Midoriyama Akiko your mother?"

This time, I paused as well. "Yes… but how did you know that Midoriyama was my mother's maiden name?"

"Because," Mimori smiled grimly, "your mother wasn't married to your father when I knew her. I don't know how this is possible, but last time I checked, Midoriyama Akiko-sama should be twenty-nine right now."

"I don't know who you people are, but my mom would be forty-four right now," I argued, suddenly getting antsy. "You know who we are, so who are you two?"

"My name is Uechi Mimori, and this is my husband, Uechi Tarou, and we make clothes for a living," she quickly explained. "This doesn't make any sense!"

"None of this does, Mimi," Tarou said, "but before this gets any more confusing, I think it might be best if we discuss this over lunch. Would you girls like to have some bread and soup?"

Even before we nodded, Tarou went at it, beginning to chop up carrots and setting a fire.

It was official: this couple was definitely made in heaven. She was emotional and over-the-top, and he was serious and down-to-earth. She sulked, he made her soup.

Mimori went for the open seat in between Tenten and I.

"How old are you, Sakura-chan? Tenten-chan?"

"I'm sevente- I mean, eighteen. I just turned eighteen a few days ago,"

"I'm eighteen."

Mimori nodded. "I see… eighteen is definitely an age of change! Happy late birthday, Sakura-chan," she smiled grimly again.

I could feel a small amount of happiness swell up inside me, before I spoke out. "Thank you, but we would really like to know where we are right now."

"You don't know?" the woman questioned. "Didn't Akiko-sama or Fuya-sama tell you?"

I scratched the back of my neck. "Well… they're not exactly with us right now, Uechi-san…"

"Oh, so it was a dump-and-run type thing?" Mimori laughed. "Sounds like your mom to me. Did you do something to piss her off?"

"W-What? No! We were taken by force!"

It hit me then: these people didn't know that my mom was dead. They kept referring to her like she was alive. I decided to keep my mouth shut, though - the woman in front of me seemed stressed enough knowing Mom had a kid.

"Taken by force? What do you mean?" she tilted her head.

Tenten opened her mouth to tell her, but I interrupted. I leaned in towards my friend, and lowered my voice. "Sorry Tenten, but something doesn't feel right." I turned towards Mimori. "Can you tell me something about this letter?"

I went into my bag, and pulled out the letter. I handed to her.

After giving it a once over, she almost dropped it like it burned her. Her quick intake of breath made her shake, and she cried, "This… this is a Guardian letter!"

"A what?" Tenten asked.

She quickly shoved the letter back to me. "That writing! Normal peasants like Tarou and myself can't read it! Only a privileged few were allowed to learn how to read and write it! Both that paper and that writing are sacred!"

_Sacred?_ I looked at the paper, and reread it. Nope, same letter. I could retype the stupid thing right now.

"The only ones who can write like that, beside those special few, are the Gods and Goddesses and their Guardians!"

Tarou stopped cooking for a moment, then quietly continued. "Then it confirms it. This young lady must be Akiko-sama and Fuya-sama's daughter, seeing as she can read it, correct?"

"Yeah… both of us can," I said stupidly, motioning to Tenten and me. "Why is it sacred?"

Mimori tripped over her words. "Didn't you see the sign outside? Our peasant writing looks nothing like that!"

I frowned. "Uh… yeah it does. It said 'open' and 'closed'."

Now Tenten frowned. "No, it didn't. There were just a bunch of symbols on there, Sakura."

I gave her my 'excuse me?' face. "Huh? Tenten, that sign in the door was clearly an open sign."

Tenten shook her head. "No… Sakura, that sign had a bunch of symbols on it. Look, Uechi-san is bringing it now."

And right on time, Mimori slapped the sign onto the table, and I looked at it again. It looked just like an open sign. Tenten began to trace her finger on the board.

"It looks like this."

Tenten's finger moved along invisible lines. I blinked, and suddenly, the letters began to move before my eyes. They glowed pink and white, morphing and trading positions with one another. Tenten's finger soon was making markings, and when she removed her finger, the pink and white began to settle. Before I knew it, Tenten was right - it looked like a bunch of symbols. I stared at it, but with one more blink, the symbols disappeared, and it was back to saying 'open'.

"Holy cow shit." I leaned back in my chair, and Tenten gave me a worried face.

"You okay, Sakura?"

I held my head, stunned. First the internet thing, now this? And how did these people know my parents? According to my dad, he and my mom have never stepped foot out of Konoha, and even if they did, anywhere out of the Tokyo area was pushing it!

"What type of place is this?" I whispered, completely confused. "I don't understand!"

"It's called PARADISE." (2)

Tarou was now stirring the giant caldron over the fire. It smelled incredible now that I took a whiff. He was staring into the soup like it held the answers to life.

"PARADISE?" Tenten and I said at the same time.

"Yes, PARADISE. Or that's what the Gods and Goddesses told us to call it."

_So… this is what was inside the door. And these are the people of PARADISE?_

"So you're telling us that this place is called PARADISE and the one who wrote this letter is either a Guardian, a God/Goddess, or one of the few peasants who can write like this? Are you kidding me?" Tenten's eyes hardened as she switched glances from Mimori's green eyes to Tarou's wide back.

"We are not kidding you! We would never lie to-" the Uechi woman froze when her line of sight went to me unconsciously, and I had my arm crossed. She bit her lip again. "Well, you know. Seeing as Akiko-sama and Fuya-sama are our Gods, after all, that would make you our God, too, Sakura-cha- I mean, Sakura-sama. We would never lie to you."

My face contorted. _Sakura-sama? Ew. Not cute._

"Just call me Sakura. Please. And how can we trust you? For all we know, you're making everything up!"

"You can ask anyone in town! Or at least ask someone who can remember Akiko-sama's face. She visited Inoichi-sama very often - they were very close friends. Oh, Inoichi-sama is this land's God; he's the lover of all things living, and green." Mimori explained the last bit when she saw our faces.

I read the letter again, then said, "This letter is addressed to Haruno. Do you know anyone who addresses my dad like that?"

"The only one who could have that much disrespect for Fuya-sama is Fuya-sama's Guardian, Temari-sama," Mimori gasped. "But…"

"But what?"

Mimori ignored me, and asked Tarou, "Didn't Kiba-sama say that Temari-sama is confined to the Temple because of the recent attacks?"

"Yes, that is what he announced to the country. He also stated that Gaara-sama and Kankuro-sama are fighting as we speak-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, who are they? And what attacks? And why do you call my parents Gods?" I gasped. All of this was so freaking confusing! It was hard enough trying to keep up with everything.

"They're Fuya-sama's Guardians. Recently, Fuya-sama's lands have been under attack by some unknown force, and due to Fuya-sama's absence, Gaara-sama and Kankuro-sama were forced to abandon their posts in their Temple to physically defend the people of Wintersprout - that's what Fuya-sama's land is called - because it's all they can do." Mimori stood, seeing as Tarou was almost done with the soup.

"Which left Temari-sama alone in the Temple, thus unable to communicate with the outside world. And why are you asking all of this? Didn't Akiko-sama or Fuya-sama tell you?" Tarou finished.

"We told you already! We were forced to come to PARADISE, or whatever this place is called! Her parents aren't here," Tenten huffed, "And we still don't know what happened to the others!"

Naruto's grin flashed before my eyes.

"Others?" the woman's eyes widened a bit. "There are others with you? Tarou, do you think maybe the other Gods and Goddesses have-"

"Possibly, if Fuya-sama and Akiko-sama have one-"

Then the two began to fuss over whether or not their other, 'Gods' had kids like my parents did. I really wished they would stop talking about parents and kids!

Angry, confused, and hurt, I cried, "All right, you two, you are going to tell us everything from the beginning!" I narrowed my green gaze onto the couple at the fire, "I want to know where we are, what history my parents have to you and this place, and why everything is just so… just so…"

"Frustrating?" Tenten offered.

"Yes!" I breathed.

The only man in the room sighed, picking out a ladle from the hanging cooking tools next to the pot of food. He took one of the bowls Mimori had gotten from the cabinets, and poured an even amount of soup into each. The apron-clad woman served both Tenten and I the food and a spoon. She dragged another chair towards the already crowded table as her husband joined us with a bowl in hand.

"Well?"

Sitting down, the strongly-built man suddenly looked very, very tired; it was like he had seen a lot of things, and had been hurt many times. He shared a moment with his wife, then gulped down some air.

"If it is a story you want…" he trailed off.

"…then it's a story you'll get." Mimori rolled up her sleeves. "Let's start from the beginning, Sakura, Tenten."

* * *

"One more time."

"Sakura-sama-"

"_Sakura_. Say it with me: Saku-"

"Sakura. I'm very sorry, but this is the third time! And why must you record this? It's very easy to remember-"

"Just once more."

Mimori sighed.

"This land is called PARADISE. We don't know when it started or how, but it's always been this way: this is PARADISE, and it is our home. And for as long as anyone can remember, the Gods and Goddesses have reigned over us, and depending on where you lived, you worshipped a different deity. There are a total of ten Gods and Goddesses."

"We're currently in Aoizora Country, or Blue Sky Country. Our local God is Inoichi-sama."

"Six years ago, though, our God disappeared, along with the other nine. Nobody thought anything of it, though. Back then, the Gods came and went as they pleased between the Ten Countries, and the Otherworld," Tarou said.

"Okay," I said, "Got that."

"The Otherworld is a Holyland - no one, not even the Guardians, are allowed to enter that place. All ten of the Gods often left and would return from the Otherworld weeks, or even months after they left. But they had always returned to receive our offerings and worries. Always."

"A year after their disappearance, people began spreading rumors that the Gods had died, or that the Guardians had killed them."

I typed that into my laptop. "Okay. And this Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro were my dad's, 'Guardians' who took care of things while he was gone? And you can't remember who my mothers' were? Or anyone else's for that matter?"

"Yes, that's correct, aside from Ibiki-sama, Anko-sama, Kiba-sama, and Shino-sama, who are Inoichi-sama's Guardians. And Fuyume (Wintersprout) Country and Akiyama (Autumn Mountain) Country were your parents' lands."

"Got it…"

"Each country has a set of colors to distinguish where you're from. Usually we don't even bother remembering colors, since Aoizora is rarely visited by other, more advanced countries. The only ones were ever bother to remember are Akiko-sama's - pale red and light green - Fuya-sama's - red-orange and gold - and Kushina-sama's - red and orange. Our colors are purple and green, as you can probably see from the festival outside."

"What is so special today, anyway?" Tenten inquired.

"Oh, it's been happening since last month. Last month marked the 12-month count-down to PARADISE DAY, in which we celebrate all year the joy of being here in PARADISE. You'll see celebrations going on everywhere in PARADISE, even where's it more gloomy."

I clicked away at the keyboard. That was probably why no one thought we looked out-of-place when we were fighting the crowd. They just thought we were visiting from another country.

Tarou explained earlier that Kushina was another Goddess as well. There were ten total Gods: Kushina, Minato, Inoichi, Mayu, Hizashi, Hiashi, Fugaku, Mikoto, and both of my parents. I kept trying to tell myself that there was no way they were talking about my parents, and that it was just some strange coincidence, but as Mimori explained her relationship with my mother for the third time, I found myself believing this story more and more.

"It was twelve years ago that I met Akiko-sama. I was seventeen years old, and living in this very town. Akiko-sama came from Akiyama to visit Inoichi-sama. By golly, she was beautiful, and surrounded by children! It was like seeing an angel!"

"Mimori, focus."

"Oh, sorry! Anyway, the reason why we were so happy to see you at first was because Akiko-sama…" she looked lovingly at Tarou, "…brought Tarou and I together. And we never got to thank her properly before she vanished. And that's all we know about your parents."

So my mother was a match maker. Joy. I decided to leave that out of the document.

"She was one of my closest friends, and Tarou was wonderful friends with Fuya. From what I know, Akiko would leave you here, but she wouldn't just dump you without any information! I doubt Fuya would either."

Tarou shook his head. "He wouldn't. Maybe to someone he'd know could find their way around, but not to his own child."

As I finished the details on my document, and hit save, I closed my laptop, and asked, "Why aren't you guys curious to what this is?"

"Hm? Oh, you mean your notebook?" the brunette smiled. "Everyone has one."

"Everyone? So…" Tenten and I looked at each other, "you know what a computer is?"

"Of course we do! How else would the Guardians and the Gods stay connected? Through telephone? Email? Ha!" Mimori laughed. "That's old technology. Everyone uses webcams to talk nowadays, even if they're from a land that's overseas, like Akiyama. The only ones who still keep their laptops are the Guardians." She looked down, and a bit of hurt crossed her expression. "I guess they're still hoping for Inoichi-sama to message them back with his return one day."

_I never thought I'd see the day when I saw anachronism for real._

Tenten continued. "So, the only likely way to get out of here is to go to the Otherworld, it seems."

"You plan to try to get to the Otherworld?" Mimori gasped. "Do you not think there have been people who have tried? Hundreds! Thousands! People have always tried to get to the Holyland! It's impossible!" She paused, then added, "But… Sakura-sa- I mean, Sakura… you might be able to."

I blinked. "Why just me? Why not Tenten?"

Mimori cupped her chin. "There are portals to the Otherworld in every country's Temple, but to use it, you have to be a God. Akiko-sama and Fuya-sama used Inoichi-sama's portal many times. I," another look of hurt, "have tried to enter Inoichi-sama's portal to go to the Holyland to see Akiko-sama many times as well. It never works for me, a peasant.

"But maybe" she paused, "if you have the blood of two gods, you might make the cut for the portal to work…"

My older friend and I shared another glance.

"It's worth a shot. But we have to find the others too! They're probably somewhere in this country, like us!" Tenten cried. "They might not have been so lucky as to land near a town! You saw what the area looks like around here!"

"It's nothing but dense forests, hills, and mountains," I agreed.

Tarou then said, "There might be an easy solution to that."

"Tarou? Are you thinking of them using _that_?"

The man faced his wife, and nodded. "There is no doubt in my mind that this girl belongs to Fuya," his hard eyes melted a bit, "her eyes are the same shade of green. Even more so, though, she belongs to Akiko. The temper gave it away," he chuckled. "I believe our Guardians will see the similarity. You give off the aura of our Gods. Both of you. And since you can both read the Sacred writing, you have more proof that you are a God's daughter, and that you're worthy of possibly using the Temple's webcam."

"What's that?"

"The Guardians use it to announce news and updates on the country and of the world. It sends a projection of the person using it to the sky over every city and major road, as well as audio. You may be able to contact your friends that way."

"We're not friends," I corrected, "The only reason we met was because we were all kidnapped here."

Both people looked confused.

"I've never heard of someone being forced to come to PARADISE," they admitted. "Are you sure you were taken, and not even somewhat willing to come?"

I was taken a back. I remembered when I was running through the forest that I didn't want to get caught by the officer. I also remembered my life back at home: the boring, tiring, and stressful everyday life. And now, in this strange, new, and fascinating world, it was something different and exciting.

Did I want to go away from my life? Was PARADISE what I wanted?

Mimori looked out the window of the kitchen, and threw her arms up. "Oh, look at the time! Off to bed, you two! I prepared a room and everything, so don't you dare refuse! It's an honor to house such important girls. I hope you don't mind the decorations! And don't mind the dishes, I'll do that - just get some rest, okay?" She pushed the two of us, both of which were taller than her by a good eight inches at least, up the stairs. "Tarou, be a dear, and show them the way!"

The man got up from his seat and followed us up.

As we went down the hallway, we saw a door cracked open a smidge. When we opened the door, and I turned on the lights (electric, mind you!) Tenten and I froze.

It was a baby's room. It had a changing table, a crib, and even a mobile. But I didn't see any hint of a living baby anywhere in the small, musty room.

When Tarou came in, he gestured to the beds that we didn't notice on the other side of the room from the baby stuff. "Forgive the furniture, here are your beds. If you two need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

When he brushed past us, I had to ask, "Is Mimori-san, preg-"

Tarou cut in. "No. Your mother was the Goddess you had to pray to if you wanted a child, and had a hard time conceiving." His large fingers touched the door frame. "Thanking her for bringing the two of us together wasn't the only thing we wanted to say to her." He paused. "Good night, girls."

With that, he shut the door.

My eyes went back to the furniture. I ran my finger across the surface of the crib - it was incredibly dusty.

"So you have to pray to a Goddess if you want a child?" Tenten sat down on one of the beds. "This world is getting weirder and weirder by the second."

As I stared down at my finger covered in dust, I clenched my fist.

My mom also had a hard time getting pregnant. She often told me growing up I was her Wonder Child because she had such a wonderful time being pregnant with me. My dad would say that I was the best happiness that had ever blessed them.

I wondered if my parents let my baby furniture rot away like this before Mom got pregnant. Did they ever pray to a god for a child? Maybe because she couldn't have kids, she wanted to help others achieve it? The puzzle between my parents and this place was fitting together a bit in my mind.

"And I think I'm starting to believe my parents did rule this place once," I whispered.

"What? You are? So you're saying your parents really ruled over two countries? And that they should be, like, twenty-nine?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but yeah. Maybe this is some sort of parallel world to ours? I mean, the Internet works, they webcam, and they can shoot projections at the sky to announce stuff. But yet I can't send a simple email to a friend for help? Maybe my parents found this place by some sort of computer accident - my dad was one of leading computer engineers. I don't know, it's really weird."

"Sakura, you don't find a parallel universe through computers. Space, maybe, but not computers."

"Well, then, how did we get here? What is this place? Look, maybe tomorrow we can ask Tarou and Mimori to take us to this Temple place. Maybe we can get some more definite answers there."

I sat down on the other bed, and we began to talk. Our conversation went from talk of our predicament, to our theories on the people who reside here in PARADISE. By then, we had to turn off the lights when Mimori popped her bonnet-clad head in and said they were going to sleep. Our voices were also reduced to soft whispers.

"Yeah," a yawn, "Do you think maybe this Inoichi guy is also like your parents? You know, from our world?"

"I think he might be. I'm starting to think this Otherworld might actually be our world, and that these, "Gods" were able to come back and forth between here and our world."

"That's a good possibility, but why would they be considered Gods, then? There must be something that makes them all-powerful."

"Good point. God, I'm so tired, but I can't sleep."

"Me neither. I hope the others are okay. Especially Naruto, since he can be a little slow and really implusive. I mean, no offense, I know he's your friend, but how do you stand him?"

"I can't. he just hangs around me, and I just talk to him sometimes. Beneath the idiocy, he's actually really nice once in a while, I guess. Usually when he's not yelling in your ear."

"Haha! You two are cute."

"Yeah right. What about you and the brown-haired guy? Who's that?"

"Oh, him? Hyuuga Neji. He goes to Konoha A, and he's Tokyo's best fighter in just about every style. I only know his name because my family owns a dojo, and my friend, Lee - you know him, right? Seeing as he talks about you non-stop, of course you do - is our best, so we signed him up for a tournament we knew Neji'd be at. Lee lost, and Neji was a total ass about it. Obviously, I'd remember him, since he sent Lee to the emergency hospital too." (3)

"What, really? Poor Lee. Annoying as hell, no offense, but no one deserves to be beaten down, then ridiculed. But I heard Lee's the fastest guy on track, what happened? Is he okay?"

"Neji's hits were so bad, Lee started to bleed internally. Unfortunately, all of his hits were legal, so he wasn't disqualified. After I escorted the Lee in the ambulance and left the hospital… I don't know. I was going to visit him after I finished working at my aunt's restaurant, but, well, you know," she gestured to her outfit, then around the room. "Something got in the way, so I have no idea if he's okay or not."

* * *

"'_Got in the way'? More like kidnapped! Haha!"_

"_Haha!"_

Laughter. Wow, he hadn't heard that in a long time from Sakura. It sounded like music to his ears. The last time he had heard her laugh like that felt like centuries ago, even though it hadn't been that long to him, compared to how long it must have been for her. He tried to do the math in his head as he listened to the girl's conversation: a year? A little more than a year? No, it had definitely been more than that, Sakura had grown a bit taller than what a girl should grow in a year. More like two, or three. The girl next to her was older, he could tell, he estimated that Sakura was now around seventeen. He wondered if her birthday had passed already. He couldn't tell anymore.

He let his head hang, his exhausted legs barely holding him up if not for his arms being chained so they were outstretched. When he looked back up at the screen which displayed the pinkette in the small Aoizora town, looking at old baby furniture and talking to her friend, tears gathered behind his glasses.

Sakura. She was in PARADISE. (How could Temari be so stupid? How could she bring his happiness into this world? As it was being destroyed, no less! And he knew he had taught one of the siblings to teleport, why couldn't Temari announce she was here, and bring Sakura to safety- Oh. He reminded himself that Temari couldn't announce anything, especially something as important as a God's daughter. His land was being attacked. Sometimes horrible news like that just slips your mind when you want to forget it.) He knew something foreign and new had entered the program, but the last thing he wanted it to be was his daughter. He knew it was coming when he checked her computer during the virtual scanning, but he figured it wouldn't be years until she came! Not hours!

The bearded man was somewhat glad Sakura and her friend made it to Mimori and Tarou's town - there, he knew, they would be safer than out in the forest. But the couple's explanations, he knew, would not be enough to make sure these girls and all the other foreign kids' safety. They needed another source of information, something that could defend them and protect them if needed.

He began to conjure up a plan: a guide. That was it! He would create a guide for them. Something small, compact, one that could easily be hidden away. And if possible, could grow large, and could possibly be ridden for a quick get-away. Yes! He would make something like that. He was a God in this world a reason, and if this wasn't an excuse to use his deity-like powers of coding, what was?

So as he scrolled through the views of the eight teenagers, memorizing each of their main features, the man summoned a keyboard above his head. The board was split in two, one side for each hand. Using his foot, he created a blank screen. He began typing complicated computer codes in, switching back to the view of each kid every so often.

If any of them got hurt, he knew his friends would never forgive him. But on that note, he knew they would never forgive him anyway. He had broken his promise, and had come to this place, and now, as he watched his little girl helplessly, he was paying the price. But he had to try to protect them, at the very, very least, so, honestly, he was pretty much breaking every promise he swore to keep from back then: don't return to PARADISE, don't every use your powers again, blah, blah, blah.

He had to hurry. He didn't know how long it would be until _he_ returned from the Otherworld, from reality. So, using all the strength he had left, he typed furiously.

As he came to a particular part in the code, he wondered if he should give it a conscious or not. He thought of his daughter, whose life he had been missing from for three, long years, and he knew he had his answer. He couldn't afford to miss anymore of her life. She had gone from a spunky teenager, to a beautiful young woman in that time, and he had missed it.

So the screen hummed, and he typed silently. Morning's end was coming up fast in the real world, and he wanted this creature at the Inoichi's Temple before then. He was making many mistakes, but he figured he could go back and fix them. He had to get this done - if not for his peace of mind, if not for his friends, then for Akiko, and for the wonder she left behind.

* * *

A/N: Done. Typos glaore, probably, but I can't see them. It's really late (or maybe really early?) where I am, and I just want to post this up and be done! If any of you are confused, do not hesitate to ask me.

Review, please~!

(1) Introductions:  
In Japan, they introduce themselves, "last name, first name". So it's not, "Sakura Haruno", it's, "Haruno Sakura". A bit strange to an American, who say their first names, first, and their last names, last, but that's how they do it.

(2) PARADISE: Katakana?  
When they're saying, 'PARADISE," it's, "PA-RA-DA-I-SU".

(3) dojo:  
I believe it's a place to learn ways of fighting. I forgot if it was specifically for Japanese ways of fighting or not, but I know karate is taught there for sure.

Edited: 12.28.10


	4. Chapter Three: Calling

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine, but the idea that it should be named Sasuke might. Maybe. Probably not. But maybe.

A/N: … I'm not dead, yo. As per the number of votes on my profile, I wrote a chapter for Beautiful World first.

* * *

Chapter Three: Calling

* * *

"You wish to go to the Temple? Today?" Mimori asked, dropping her spoon into her soup. "But you just got here!"

That was a lie - we've been here for three days.

Why? Because every time we wanted to ask Tarou or Mimori to take us to the Temple of Aoizora, they'd interrupt us, or make us do chores around the shop to distract us. And while, yes, me and Tenten were grateful they let us stay here, and answered our questions (both the big ones and little, everyday ones), it was obvious they were trying to make us stay.

And as much as I would love to stay longer with the motherly, fussy, and talkative woman and her reliable, domestic, and silent husband, I knew we couldn't. There were others who were in Aoizora, in PARADISE, and we still had no idea where they were.

And honestly, I wasn't worried about anyone as much as I worried about the boy with the beautiful eyes. He didn't look like the rugged and street-smart type like Naruto was, he didn't seem like the hyper-intelligent guy like Shikamaru, and if Tenten was right, I wasn't worried about Neji either, or the two girls that were with them. (They were attached to them still, I hoped.) That boy seemed like a Neji actually - very capable of self-defense - but I couldn't help but worry because he was alone. Everyone had entered the door in pairs or in a group of four (Neji, Tenten, Naruto, and Hinata… I think that was her name), and I had been with him, but woke up without him.

Tenten nodded. "Yes. We appreciate you housing us here for the last few days, but we must find the others. We're really worried - none of them seemed to know what was going on when we were taken here through the Door."

Mimori's eyes looked downcast. "I know, the Door you went through to come here. But girls, you're still not used to the environment!"

I placed a hand onto Mimori's folded ones, and said, "Then we'll learn the hard way. Please, Mimori-san, we have to get to that Temple. We need answers that we can't get from you or Tarou-san."

The woman's lips formed a thin line. "Fine, but on one condition."

"Yes?" my friend asked.

"I'm taking you girls shopping today. You can't be walking around Aoizora looking like that, much less at the Temple." She smiled warmly. "If you want to be treated well, you gotta look like a local! Tarou and I will take you tomorrow, okay?"

"But, you make clothes. Can't we just buy it here?"

"Oh, no! Tarou and I make cheap, everyday clothing. You're going to need something of higher quality if you're going to the Temple. So? Will you come with me, get some clothes to be treated well, or would you rather get glares from all the folks around these parts?"

Tenten and I looked at ourselves - we had just changed out of our borrowed clothes (given to us by Mimori) and back into the clothes we had been wearing when we came to PARADISE. We didn't quite fit in with the style the locals were dressed in so to say.

Mimori's hopeful eyes made sure we couldn't refuse. I scratched the back of my head, an old habit from Naruto, and answered, "All right, I'm cool with that."

She looked at Tenten, who caved instantly.

With a squeal of delight, the woman stood, forgetting her soup breakfast, and said, "Great! I'll just go tell Tarou to hold the fort, and we can go, okay?"

"Um, okay, but where is the Temple-"

"Tarou-chaaan!"

I slapped my forehead. She had ignored us again.

Tenten watched Mimori run off to the front of the shop where Tarou was. And like she knew I was slightly worried, she said, "We have her word. And knowing her husband, he'll make sure she sticks to it. Those two make a good couple, you know."

Nodding, I smiled. "Yeah, they do. They'd make quite a set of parents."

Mimori returned, and grabbed a cloak from the hook next to the entrance. "C'mon you two! We don't have long until the new group of people from Akaito get here! By then, the prices will skyrocket! So chop, chop, let's go!" She pushed the both of us out of the back, through the front where Tarou waved like there wasn't anything wrong with the scene.

I picked up my messenger bag before it was out of reach, and prepared myself mentally. Sure, I liked shopping, but I never did it with anyone before. Before he went into a coma, my dad would let me buy whatever I wanted from a limit of three stores, and he always stood outside. Every time I called my friends from school to ask if they wanted to come with me, they always declined, saying they had other things to do. I had always wondered what it would be like to shop with another girl, and sometimes, with a mom.

Mimori definitely acted like a mother when she shoved us into a random booth, and began holding things up to us. And though it was hard to deal with the fussy woman and her high criteria for what would suit the two of us, I found it somewhat endearing and kept my temper under control. (I hated being pushed around, but I made an exception. The woman seemed happy.)

After going around several stores, we returned to one of them, and Mimori actually made us try things on. I let Tenten go first - "I am deeply annoyed by this, Sakura." "Better you than me!" - and what felt like hours later, we finally were able to find a top for my brunette friend. Now, all that was left was a skirt.

"Mmm… no. Try this one."

Tenten made a face as she shimmied out of the purple skirt.

"Mimori-san, it's the exact same thing!"

"But it's a different color, Tenten! Oh, I knew navy blue was your color. Here, try the black corset-" the woman helped Tenten tie the garment around her waist, and then stood back. "Oh yes. That looks good. Miss, we'll take these!"

Tenten did look good. She blended in perfectly with her surroundings with a white peasant top that was slightly off her shoulder, exposing her well-defined clavicles. And with her long legs, the skirt folded and hung in a way only tall, fit people could achieve. And it was true, the navy blue was definitely one of her colors. I was a bit jealous of her brown hair and eyes now - she could get away with just about any color on her, and she wouldn't look out of place, unlike me. (I could never wear anything purple.)

The young girl who was watching the store nodded, and rushed into the back. She came back a few seconds later.

"That'll be twenty silver coins, please."

Mimori looked offended. "Excuse me? Twenty _silver_ coins? I've seen cattle wear finer quality clothes! Ten silver coins is enough!"

"Ma'am, please, the merchant will accept no less-"

"Let me speak to him! Twenty silver coins, my butt!"

She nodded, and rushed off again. I gave Mimori a shocked face. "Mimori-san, is it really worth…?" Tenten looked down, feeling the cloth. Our older guide smiled, and winked silently. As the curtains opened, revealing a bulky and almost inhumanly hairy man, wearing a fez hat and a vest, her anger returned.

"Hello, ladies, my assistant tells me you have a problem with my pricing, yes?"

Mimori, both thinner and smaller than the man by far, put her hands on her hips, and said, "Yes, yes we do. It's horrendous! There is no way this get-up is worth twenty - ten is more than enough!"

"Madame, I have come all the way from Giniro! These prices are very cheap! You can't deny them!"

"Sir, you are not in Giniro! You are now in Aoizora, and now you must follow Aoizora's pricing!"

This resulted in a stand-off between customer and merchant.

Tenten and I gave each other a look.

I mouthed, "Did he just say he was from silver?" (1)

Tenten shrugged. She fingered the cloth of the skirt, and gave me a raised brow, and mouthed back, "I think so."

As the two argued, and Tenten reexamined herself in the mirror, I looked around. The clothing, as I touched one of the more brightly-colored skirts, wasn't the best quality, but it was light and looked nice to move in. The one I touched especially. It was a nice red color, and it reminded me of my mother - she loved the color red.

I guess the merchant saw me, and he called, "That skirt is eight silver pieces! I suggest the bell-sleeved v-neck!"

Mimori turned to eye the skirt with her analytical eye. When those green orbs softened with approval, she faced the man once more, and said, "Look here, I know you're one of the more intelligent Ape men, and I'll tell you what: if you give me this outfit, along with one more, I'll pay thirty-five silver pieces. Maybe forty-five if you throw in a bag for Tenten here. Does that sound reasonable?"

My mouth hung open for a second, then shut.

An Ape man? You have got to be kidding me.

Mimori walked towards the skirt I was looking at, tore it from its place, and handed it to me. She went off further into the tent, and came back with a white shirt.

I held it out; I saw it was the v-neck the man (ape?) had recommended. With that, she shoved me into the dressing room, and hollered, "Try it on! Come out when you're done."

By the time I had finished, I had realized one thing: that this Ape man was definitely gay.

("Oh, golly, how can I say no to two beautiful girls? Ow! Girl, you know you ain't no girl anymore, you be a woman, okay? Fine, give me the forty-five, I'll throw in a bag. Why you need to change clothes though, Bun Bun, I don't see. I like the foxy Chinese look, you know you got with your hair!")

Not that it was bad thing, but he was very, very gay, and it made the fact that he was part _animal_ all the more vivid. And very, very ape.

When I came out, Tenten was the only one to speak out. "Wow, you look really good!"

I gave my thanks. The Ape, after looking up from the calculator he was holding, smiled and said, "Sold!" and went back to pressing the numbers with his large fingers. He seemed to be having a hard time. The girl from before ended up being the one to push all the numbers in, shyly watching me.

My gaze went to Mimori. She noticed my look of concern (and slight worry - did I look strange?) then smiled warmly. Her eyes were watery as she laughed, "We'll take it."

...

The next day, Mimori and Tarou took Tenten and I onto the main highway to go the Temple. It was a relatively busy road, though not as bustling as the town we had left. Apparently the walk would be far, and seeing as the Uechi couple didn't keep a horse nor a buggy, we were, indeed, walking. I was mentally hoping that there would be some type of taxi service in PARADISE, but no such luck. You would think there would be another crazy old coot driving a cart, barreling down the road like before, but even he wasn't here to save me from physical activity. (Groan.)

To fill in the hours we would be walking, the couple entertained us with mundane stories of everyday life. They answered our questions, even named some of the native birds that flew past us every once in a while.

"Ah, look, a Paracoct," Tarou said, shielding his eyes from the sun, and making gesticulations at a tiny neon orange bird with a stray black feathers poking out of its head like whiskers.

I tilted my head. "Naruto?"

The brown-eyed girl next to me had laughed.

I think we were about an hour into our travels when I finally began to get antsy. We had just passed a huge troupe of animal-people: women with long, black and white striped hair, little boys with curling horns, and more than half a dozen men with fangs and really cranky faces, as if they didn't want to be out in the sun. I tried not to stare, but I ended up just full-out looking at them.

Tenten was the one who asked about the merchant we had dealt with yesterday once we got out of hearing range. Both of us were curious.

"He said he was from silver."

"Silver? You mean Giniro? Hm, I'm pretty sure he meant Ginkiniromoi. I'm assuming you met a talking animal?" Tarou asked.

The man's wife nodded. "Yes, an Ape man. Thing was sweet as pie. Surprised he had the guts to come all the way out here."

"So, you're telling me there are more of them in… 'Ginkiniromoi'? I'm assuming that's one of the Ten Countries."

Tarou nodded as well. "Yes, it's another country across the Daiumi." (2)

The Daiumi, as explained by Tarou and Mimori, is the largest mass of water in PARADISE. Apparently it's the one thing separating the two greatest land masses in this world, and circles around the world vertically. Though, strangely, no one has ever traveled around the world using this body of water. You'd think they'd go Magellan on the Daiumi, but "those who tried never came back." According to the couple, it's a PARADISIAN legend that if you can travel to the other side of the world, and float on the half of the world where it's entirely covered by the Daiumi, the Gods will praise you, and grant you one wish. "It's just a legend though," Mimori had mused, "Even those who said they would wish for their instant return home never came back." I figured I ought to put that into my laptop, so I ended up typing a bit during the journey.

"Anyway, talking animals usually don't venture out of Ginkiniromoi. It's very inconvenient for talking animals, seeing as they have to face the world's prejudice. Ginkiniromoi is the only place in PARADISE where they really don't have people staring. It's also more accommodating for them," he explained, "Was he alone?"

"No," I said, finally getting the answer to my question. "He had a girl with him. She seemed really shy."

"Ah, probably a mouse girl. They're known for being shy. Anyway, I wonder why he came all this way? Ginkiniromoi is practically on the other side of the world from Aoizora. Very strange…"

I ignored Tarou questions, and began to think for myself. PARADISE was overall a very strange place, and it just got stranger as I walked down the dirt road with Tenten, Mimori, and Tarou by my side. The sun was nearing its peak, blaring down at it. Tarou and Tenten were talking about Animal people, and Tarou was eagerly explaining. Mimori was somewhat occupied, gathering apple from the trees that overhung from the side of the road, and she seemed to be talking to them. I didn't pay much heed to it.

As we walked, it was becoming very apparent why Aoizora was named as such. The sky was a perfect shade of blue, and the clouds were white and fluffy enough to contrast perfectly. But it made me wonder if the sky really stayed that shade of blue all year-round. It felt like the latter end of spring or the beginning of summer here. The orchards around us were filled with fruits and vegetables and farmers were seen beyond the wooden fences on either side of the unpaved highway. I took a deep breath in, savoring the clean air. It was different than the air in Konoha, Tokyo.

_This must be a great place to live_, I thought to myself.

"For your travels, young sprout."

I stopped dead in my tracks. It wasn't a voice I recognized, yet I strangely knew it was directed to me. "Who-" I looked up, and there was a low-hanging branch displaying a bright red apple. I glanced around. When I looked back at it, it was a shaking slightly.

"Go on, take it."

And though it had been drilled into my head to never accept things from strangers, I saw no harm in taking it. Pulling back my white sleeve, I gently plucked the fruit from the branch, and the limb retracted back into the air. I traced the limb back to its original trunk.

So Mimori wasn't just acting a little crazy; the trees were talking.

"Uh… thank you?"

The tree seemed to smile. The bark of the trunk moved as a mouth. "Of course, young sprout. Anything for Akiko-sama's daughter."

I went red, whether from anger or from embarrassment, I didn't know, and turned sharply away. Once I was twenty paces away, I slowed down.

Even the trees saw me as my mother's daughter!

"Sakura, would you like-" Mimori jogged up beside me. When she saw the apple, she gasped, "Oh, you already got one!"

"Yeah… one of the trees gave me one."

She smiled warmly, and sighed, "How lucky! The orchards here can be pretty stingy with their fruit. But of course they would give some to you, you look just like Akiko-sama: she used to talk to them for hours without wanting a thing from them, even if they offered her their sweetest goods. I have to smooth-talk them for even a few!" She held out her apron with several apples in them.

I took a bite of the apple in my hand; I quickly touched my lips with widened eyes - it was so sweet!

Mimori laughed full-heartedly. "Haha! See? They're spoiling you already."

We continued to chat as the couple continued to explain their experiences of their world to us. Tenten and I found ourselves looking at one another to make sure this was real. There were stories of distant lands that held both humans and animal-human hybrids, oceans that spanned for miles, and of four people who were quietly awaiting their God to return from the Otherworld. From Earth. It made the six-hour walk to the next town over that much easier though. When you're trying to listen and believe a person's story, it makes you forget your shoes don't match your outfit's style nor its era and that your shoulder hurt from carrying a ten pound bag.

(Yes, I'm still wearing my sneakers. I refuse to remove them. Because, knowing me, if I do, I will lose my sanity in this insanity-driven land, and will eventually spiral to the point of self-destruction. Enough said.)

Once we left the mid-way point (a simple cottage with a few benches and a nice old lady with water) Tenten asked, "So, what is this Temple like, anyway? We might as well know, seeing as we had to wait a whole day to get here."

"It's large, almost two hundred feet high! They say it was carved out of pure marble, it's so white. They have stained glass windows, giant arches, and the inside is just as grand. I can't tell you how many times people get married at its doorstep."

"Did you?"

"Yeah, we did," the man sighed, smiling. Covering his eyes from the light above, he looked into the distance, and said, "We're almost there. You can see the tip of it now."

I looked the way Tarou was, and squinted because of the sun. I saw a thin tower with two other bell towers chiming amongst the green hills. Pearly white, it stood out.

"C'mon, you two, let's hurry. I'm sure you have plenty of questions."

I nodded, and the four of us sped up.

...

It was silent inside their sanctuary. The early morning sun colored the floor of this place with the hues of the stained glass that blessed the sides of the building. The rainbow of colors bled onto the wooden benches that spanned across the floor of the cathedral-like Temple. It was rare to see this place so silent and utterly lifeless. But, then again, this Temple didn't have any appointments for marriages or mass today. This was also strange, but it wasn't like the silence was unappreciated. As a matter of fact, one of the gorgeous marble Temple's Guardians was quite pleased with the lack of noise for the moment. He would be able to enter the main hall without being sought after. Most of the Guardians of Aoizora felt this way. The only two who wouldn't be were out and about doing whatever it is dogs did in the early morning and the other had a hangover and was sleeping. (As of that moment, the fourth Guardian GREATLY appreciated the silence, and thus led to the majority actually liking the absence of the usual racket. Now, if she was awake and sober…)

A tall man stood before the altar of the Temple. His hard eyes let his gaze linger on the statue before him, a mere replica of his Master, his Lord, his God. It's gold body stood out against the white back drop, much like this Temple did against the green hills that looped around it. He looked at it a while longer before clasping his hands together and kneeling before it on the stairs. He slowly removed the bandana that covered his head, revealing horrible and severe scars marring his bald skull. His face fell to the ground as he began to pray; black eyes fell shut.

All was silent in the Temple of Aoizora because he didn't say a word.

_Inoichi-sama_, he began. He remained soundless, as he mused over what he would say to his God, as he did everyday.

He proceeded to tell the statue through his thoughts about his sleep, then about his family. He went on about his little brother, making his way through his plans for the day. He got the meaningless, mundane things out of the way. (Or, at least the man thought these things were mundane, as compared to his Holy figure.)

But as he clenched his hands together in prayer, his battered and scarred countenance tightening as he did so, he thought, _We need you, Inoichi-sama. Aoizora may not be safe under our protection within a few short months. I worry that we may not be enough to keep the one thing you left us with safe and the way it was when you vanished. Please, my Lord, return to us in our time of need-_

"Someone is coming."

Ibiki raised his voice as he said, "Tell them we are not accepting visitors."

The younger man leaning against the nearby pillar said nothing. Dark glasses didn't indicate if he heard the order or if he was thinking. Nevertheless, he stayed rooted to the spot and the buzz of flapping insect wings only cemented the identity of this person. The larger, scarred man's eyes gazed at him with a cold look telling him that he nor the pet bugs he kept with him were wanted at the moment. Yet he remained unmoved, as if he was disobeying the wordless command.

"Shino, I told you to-"

"I heard you."

"Then go tell them they are not welcomed today! I do not have time for you and your childish attitude."

The buzzing noise continued in the large room. Several moments passed, and Ibiki realized with growing irritation that not only was the man not leaving him to his morning ritual, but Shino's voice was growing in volume as he spoke to his insects and bugs. The young man, Shino, suddenly said, looking at the small insect that had told him of the visitors, "It can't be Akiko-sama."

This made black eyes slam open. Ibiki Morino's head rose as he said, "What did you just say?"

Shino seemed surprised Ibiki heard what he said, but he replied, "One of my flies told me a girl that looks like Akiko-sama is coming."

"Your flies have horrible eyesight."

"But twenty of them are insisting it's her."

His eyes narrowed dangerously. "You usually have forty on patrol."

"The other half of them are saying it's just a look-a-like."

As the Morino opened his mouth to speak, an echo sounded. The pair instantly knew it was coming from the large wooden door at the entrance of the Temple.

Without saying a thing, Ibiki made large strides towards the door, with Shino in tow. His mind raced with feelings and factual thoughts.

It couldn't be. Inoichi-sama would have replied to his bi-daily prayers if Akiko-sama was here, if Akiko-sama was here, then maybe Inoichi-sama was coming, if Akiko-sama was here, there must be hope, but what if she's not here, there is no hope, if Akiko-sama, if Akiko-sama-

With a single large hand, the bear-like man threw open the door with an ear-splitting slam. Fresh Aoizoraian air blew in as he stared down at the eyes of two commoners, one of which he recognized. Said woman was not supposed to be here unless it was dire due to certain incidents that had occurred in the past, all of which included Inoichi-sama's portal to the Otherworld. The stupid thing had tried to commit suicide before the holy portal, and as part of her punishment, she could no longer return to the Temple unless it was life-threatening or changing.

She seemed fine, and she didn't seem panicked. She had no reason to be before him.

"Uechi-san," he said darkly.

The small woman gasped. "Mo-Morino-sama, I…" green eyes looked away, and the man next to her tightened his hold on her hand when she whispered, "I didn't know you were on mass duty today." (3)

He ignored her, looking behind the couple. He didn't have the patience for her. His eyes were instantly caught by pink.

"You." His arm rose, splitting the Uechi couple as he moved them to look at the pink. He moved them completely aside as he exited the Temple and stared down at the girl.

The resemblance was striking. If he had not known any better, he was standing before Inoichi-sama's equal, Akiko-sama. The pink hair had the same length, the same straight flow and curve of every follicle. Her brows were pink, her nose rounded the same way. Her lips were moderately sized for her face - fuller than average, but not large enough to be considered, 'pouty'. Her eyes were filled with light, and they were shaped exactly as he remembered Akiko-sama's eyes were shaped. All the way from the ironically black and pink eyelashes, to the red skirt and white top, the girl looked just like her. It was almost perfect, but the number of incorrect features she had compared to the Goddess just made his realization all the more painful.

This girl was not Akiko-sama. Not only was she too young, her eyes were the wrong color.

"Who are you?"

"Sakura," the girl spluttered after a two-second pause, "My name is Sakura."

His already marked face was drawn with wrinkles when she did not give a last name. His stare was not helping her - her smaller body was beginning to shake with fear. Those wide, large, very _green_ eyes displayed that while she was afraid, she was also unwavering. This confused him, a natural at sensing emotions without the obvious signs, greatly, but he continued to wait for that last part of her name that he wished to hear. A moment later, she added, "Haruno," to her name.

This made his eyes narrow dangerously. The face of Akiko-sama, but the name of Haruno. Impossible.

"You lie."

This made her shrink back in shock. He couldn't decipher if it was guilty shock or just pure surprise. She then proceeded to deny his charge in a slightly soft, but more confident voice.

"Who are you, you fraudulent child?"

The rosette's green eyes flashed. While her body still shook, her eyes frowned before glowing with what he's come to know as anger. She was angry.

"I told you."

"And you lied. What is your real name?" He demanded.

The anger in her eyes rose. The quivers lessened as the fire grew and she said, "I am not lying. My name is Haruno Sakura."

"You cannot lie to me. What are your real intentions, child?"

"My intentions don't need to be known if you won't believe me when I tell you my own name." Now her voice rumbled with the fire in her eyes.

Shino had come from behind him. His glasses-clad eyes stared at her.

"Please, Morino-san, let us explain, but I'm positive you have mass still-" the Uechi woman attempted to explain, but he would have none of it. He eyed Shino. His mind was clouded by this mysterious child and was in no mood to deal with the woman. He knew her on a level that did not please him.

"We are not holding any events today," Shino interjected, his hands in his pockets. "But there must be a reason why you're here if you're willing to challenge your punishment so blatantly."

She went red. "I-I, it's just," she looked at the pink-haired girl, then at the quiet brunette he had not noticed, "these girls have something to speak to you about. It's about their friends-"

"We are not counselors to mere teenage problems, we are Temple Guardians," he said rudely.

"-and Sakura's relationship to Fuya-sama and Akiko-sama."

"Which is…?" Shino asked carefully, trying not to evoke any careful planning the woman might have for coming back. For all the pair knew, the foursome had come based on a lie the eldest woman made.

Beyond the four, the town's marketplace that was across from the Temple had gone quiet. Eyes were beginning to burn holes into the back of their heads apparently, as she said softly, "May we please go inside? This matter is important and shouldn't be spoken in public…"

His made sure he let the group know he was reluctant to let them have their way. But as he stared down, intimidating the women, the single man said, "Please, Morino-san."

He sighed. "Fine. Quickly." Ibiki would never say it aloud, but he was slightly fond of the woman's husband. He gave off a good feeling, one that evoked trust and care. He preferred this type of logical and honest person.

They quickly rushed inside, and the doors shut with a swoosh behind them. Once inside, Shino led them to one of the rooms off of the nave. It was a small yet grandly decorated office that was once used by Inoichi-sama for one-on-one talks with his people. While no longer used, it was near the entrance, large enough for the group, and well-kept, (obviously for when the God reappeared) so Shino ignored Ibiki's look.

"This would be the ideal place to discuss a problem such as this, is it not?" Shino inquired thoughtfully. The older man scoffed, but moved to sit behind the massive desk. Shino followed after gesturing the travelers to sit.

Once they were all settled into chairs, he asked, "So, tell me child, who are you, and what problems do you have with your, 'friends'?"

The pink-haired girl's face was still angry. So in response, she said in a restrained tone, "My name is Haruno Sakura, and me, Tenten, and six others are not from PARADISE, _sir_. We would like some questions answered and a way to contact the others not from here, _sir_."

Ibiki searched for the word he was trying to place on her behavior. She did not seem to be lying this time, though he was still unsure if her name was really what she said it was. And he knew that she was sarcastically placing, 'sir' at the end of her sentences to either bug him or indicate she was being honest by trying to be respectful. (And failing.) Then it came to him: ah, she was being defiant, like a pouting teenager. What else? He thought a bit longer, staring at her eyes when he humbly realized there was something about the shade of her eyes. They seemed familiar. Like he had seen that shade before in a leaf, perhaps. He's seen countless leaves in lifetime, seeing as he has lived in Aoizora his whole life, but this color was strictly prohibited in his mind to memories that pertained to eye colors.

"Hmm. Tell me, what proof do you have that your name is, 'Haruno Sakura'? No mere commoner would have that surname, child, and I'm not a fool."

Uechi-san cut in. "Morino-sama, she's not stating you're a fool, she's just trying to get you to believe-"

"Silence, woman. I am talking to the girl."

The small woman looked offended, but she obeyed with pursed lips.

"Don't talk to Mimori-san like that! Look, I have proof my last name is Haruno, look-" the girl dug into a bag she had on her shoulder, pulling out a piece of paper. His eyes zeroed in on it. The sheet was pure white, not yellowed in the least. She stood, and shoved the paper at him. "Do you need anymore proof?"

He took the folded paper and opened it immediately. The moment he laid eyes on the first line, his fingers began to tremble. Sacred Writing on holy paper.

_It's been so long since I've seen it._

His fingers slowly ran down the paper, feeling the smooth grain between his fingers. Flawless. Not even those imposters in Nekome or Kurokaki could make such a fine grain of paper. And even if they could, they'd get the color all wrong, and never be able to dye it like this. His eyes traced the first word, his memory coming back again. Fura- no, Hara. No! Haru. That's right, the first symbol meant, 'haru'. Spring. The last symbol was difficult for him. He remembered the first one because it was a season, and Inoichi-sama used to speak of the seasons often in his emails. He loved gardening, after all. But the second one was one of those symbols that had a double meaning when used with another symbol, and thus he wasn't used to it. (4)

The bushy-haired boy next to him whispered, "_Haruno_. It says Haruno, Morino-san."

"…right."

_Shino kept up with his studies_, Ibiki mused. Who would have thought that the calm-natured child he met a mere ten years ago would turn out like this? The man went on reading. He struggled with a few of the symbols, each of which Shino helped him understand when he pointed to them. Again, Ibiki mentally praised the boy, but said nothing aloud.

Meanwhile, the other group across the desk patiently waited for his verdict.

After making it through once, he reread it. Then he reread it again. Then again. Once more.

There was no doubting it. It was a holy letter from the Otherworld. When he placed the paper onto the desk, he went to look at the girl once more. More for confirmation than anything. Suddenly, the hair seemed a shade too light. Her forehead too wide. Her eyes a shade too dark. Her skin glowing with too much health. The perfections he had seen before suddenly seemed wrong. There was someone else's genes needed to create the girl in front of him, and when he placed the picture in his mind, he knew he had been wrongfully accusing the girl of lying to him. There was no other pair of people who could give life to this child.

"Fuya-sama," Morino said, "you're Fuya-sama's daughter, aren't you?"

The girl - Sakura, was it? - nodded. "Yes."

He looked back down at the letter before folding his hands together in front of him. "And Akiko-sama's your mother, correct?"

"Yes."

"I see… this letter is real. There is no denying the sacred writing. Only those who come from the Otherworld can obtain this paper." He gently lifted the paper and handed it back to Sakura. "Be careful with that. You'll need it."

She nodded.

"I give my most sincere apologies to you, Sakura-sama, and to your companions," he lowered his head. "I didn't know. To redeem myself, I'll help you find your friends and answer any questions you have personally."

"It's fine, Morino-sama-"

"Just Morino. And please, I insist. Inoichi-sama would never forgive me if I left the offspring of two holy figures out in the cold."

Sakura scratched the back of her head, then said, "Um, all right, Morino-san. We would greatly appreciate it-"

BAM.

Suddenly, the door to the main part of the church flew open, and there stood a familiar sharp-toothed face.

"Hey, Morino, where the hell is every-" a pause occurred when the figure noticed there were others in the room. "-body? Woah."

"Kiba." A bark. "Akamaru."

All eyes shifted to the pair in the doorway. Kiba's eyes focused on the brightest shade in the room, and he said, "Who are you?"

"Sakura."

"Sakura? Hm, okay," Kiba shrugged. He made his way into the office and sat directly on top of the desk. He leaned in to get a closer look at her face. "You remind me of someone. I just don't know who-"

"Kiba, please remove your bottom from Inoichi-sama's desk," Shino deadpanned.

Kiba grinned at the other teenage boy. "Hey, lighten up, what Inoichi-sama doesn't know won't hurt him." He rubbed his butt even further into the desk to prove his point. The pair behind it couldn't help but make faces of disgust. Ibiki reminded himself to wipe the dark mahogany desk off once this whole ordeal was over with. He wouldn't have Inoichi-sama coming back to a desk that smelled like dog butt.

Akamaru yipped in agreement, the dog's forming vocal cords struggling to say, 'Yes!'

"You animal, get off."

"Hey, I resent that. That's Mr. Animal to you," Kiba said, but when he turned to face Sakura again, he growled in a husky voice, "but, to you, maybe I could be just Mr. Animal in bed-"

Sakura was looking over at her brown-haired companion. The thing was red all the way to the back of her neck. The more… "normal-colored" girl sighed, then said, "Hey, Mr. Animal, you're not doing a very good job at seducing your prey. Back up."

Kiba looked at the girl. "Oh, hey there, sorry babe. Would you like to see how much of an animal I really am-"

He leaned in, getting even closer to the brunette's face. Unlike Sakura, her face wasn't bright red. Her cheeks were painted a pink color, but nothing more.

"Kiba!" At Ibiki's command, Kiba instantly backed up. With his hands raised like had gotten caught by guards, Kiba held still as he said, "Kiba, get off the desk. And watch your tongue, you're speaking to a Goddess."

The already slit-like eyes went even smaller in shock. "Goddess? Which one?"

Sakura's green eyes hummed over the boy with a slightly annoyed (and still red) face. He sensed a small amount of fondness in them though - did Kiba remind her of someone?

"The pink-haired one."

"Oooh, I see, no wonder you look familiar. A relative of Akiko-sama, I assume? Or maybe Fuya-sama? Or maybe you're related to one, but hang out with the other?" when Sakura didn't respond, but gave him a questioning look, he tapped his nose. "Your scent. Are you their kid or something?"

Her eyes widened, but she said, "Y-Yeah." She squeaked when the large dog came up from under her hand and allowed her to pet him.

"Heh, figures. You remind him of Fuya-sama. He loved petting Akamaru."

After a few moments of Akamaru being spoiled by the two girls, (turns out Akamaru preferred the brunette, Tenten) Ibiki got back to business.

"Kiba, go wake up Anko. Tell her it's an emergency and to prepare the Portal room."

The shaggy-haired teen groaned. "Again? Why am I always the one to wake that bitch up?"

"I said, watch your tongue! Now go!"

Kiba grumbled, and stomped out of the room to fetch the second oldest Guardian of the Temple of Aoizora, leaving the original six people in the room.

Ibiki let out a large sigh. After calming himself down, (Kiba always did get his nerves wound up. Why Inoichi was so lenient with him growing up, he'd never know.) he faced his newest Goddess with a professional face.

"Sakura-sama, please, continue where you had left off before you were rudely interrupted."

"Yes… um, may I use your webcam?"

...

"Uh… is thing on?"

"Yes, Sakura-sama, it's on."

"Oh! Uh, um… hi."

"Really, that's all you have to say to your friends?"

"Shut up, I'm trying! I didn't plan what I was going to say beforehand!"

"Uh, Sakura, it's still on."

"I know!"

"Well, then, say something! People are going to think you're hijacking the webcam, hehe!"

"Kiba, shut your trap, let Sakura-sama speak!"

"D'awww, I ain't bothering her none, am I, Sa-ku-ra-chaaan?"

"Kiba, I'm trying to announce something, hey, wait, stop! What are you doing, no, don't touch me there!"

"Kiba, keep your mitts off of Sakura-sama!"

"OW! Why'd you hit me?"

"Get off of her, let her speak for the love of the Gods!"

"You know what, I'm winging it."

"Sakura-sa- I mean, Sakura, you can't just, 'wing it'! This is a national broadcast!"

"Oh, that's right. I already made an idiot out of myself, so what's a bit more?"

"But you're a Goddess-"

"Hey, hey, hey, I'm talking here, be quiet!"

"Don't you think we should stop broadcasting now?"

"No, Tenten, I am going to broadcast, NOW. I've turned this thing on and off seven times now! I'm doing this!"

"Sakura-sama-"

"Hello people of Aoizora."

"Completely ignored, Ibiki. You're getting soft."

"Be quiet, Anko."

"I know this must be a little strange, seeing a foreign face on the webcam, but this is an emergency."

"Right."

"Shut up, Kiba. Anyway, my name is Haruno Sakura, and I am currently searching for my…"

"Friends?"

"… acquaintances. I'm looking for my acquaintances. You're probably wondering why this is so important that I had to ask your Temple to let me announce this, but people of this land, we are not from here, if you get my drift. My friend and I are looking for the others so we can all find a way home.

"Please, those of you from Konoha district, if you can hear this, come to the Temple of Aoizora. It's in, oh, never mind, here's a map. Thank you, Morino-san."

"Hm."

"And citizens of Aoizora, I beg you to help them get here. I know it's not much, but you'll have my gratitude… Kiba, what does that sign say?"

"Nothing, Sa-ku-ra. Just ignore this."

"… 'She's the daughter of Haruno Fuya-sama and Midoriyama Akiko-sama. Suck it up.'"

"That's a horrible thing to write on a piece of cardboard and show to your loyal people."

"If they're not used to it by now, Inoichi-sama save them."

"You mean you've done this before?"

"Yeah, what's it to ya?"

"Seriously, come! I don't know where you guys are, but we have to stick to together in order to leave!"

"Anko, did you know of this?"

"Um… I'll just go set up the Portal Room for Sakura-sama…"

"Anko… Anko!"

"Whoa, she dodged a bullet there."

"Tenten and I will wait for you here."

"You shouldn't be talking, Kiba, because now I'm shooting at you."

"Oh shi-"

"Thank you for your attention, everyone, and I plead for your support. Thank you again."

"Hope you're not dead Neji, I still need to kick your ass for hurting Lee-san!"

...

I pressed the button one last time, and slouched into the seat. I had no idea announcing information was so freaking exhausting!

Tenten placed a hand on her shoulder, and I looked up at her. She returned it with a quirky grin. "So, like the tidbit I added?"

I gave her a grin of my own. "Sure did! Neji outta be cowering!"

"Well, not cowering, but he should at least feel threatened," she replied sheepishly.

Morino then came up to the two of us. "Sakura-sama, Tenten-sama, the Portal Room's preparations are complete. Would you like to see it?"

Tenten and glanced at each other, then back at the tall, broad man. We nodded that we should leave the webcam alone after using it so much; I stood up with a fleeting look at the monitor and small microphone-like camera.

The Uechi couple were taken away by Shino to wait for any wandering member of our so-called, "friends" slash "acquaintances" group, though I got the feeling they weren't allowed any further than they had already gotten. Mimori probably felt crushed, but from what I've heard so far, she was on a strict probation that concerned the Portal Room, and I didn't want any drama. I already had enough. Cooling down my temper was first on my list.

After leading us out into the hallway, the towering ceilings seemingly as high as the cathedral-like Temple itself, Morino lead us down another hall with more multi-colored floors. The decorations of the place were immaculate and intricate in its delicate mixtures of glass, wood, pure white marble, and charcoal-colored ironworks. Almost every shade and every hue I could think of off the top of my head were present, excluding any unnatural ones (I knew I wouldn't be seeing neon green any time soon). Planters were left hanging on some of the wooden pillars, and natural light flowed in from clear windows too high up for me to see. I had no idea who designed the building, but they had great taste.

"This Temple was built by Inoichi-sama himself," Morino said without looking back. "He chose every color, every piece of wood, every slab of marble."

I felt the wooden floor beginning to rise into an elevated position. The angle forced us to head upward, but Morino simply kept talking as if going up was the only thing the ground should do.

"Uh, Morino-san, is it just me or-"

"He chose every piece of material and color because they have Nature's essence in them. Worry not, the essence of the floor is just being playful."

A bump that appeared under my foot caused me to jump; I held in a squeal of shock. I glared down at the floor, thinking, _This will be the only time I will ever glare at the floor because it provoked me, I swear, I swear, I swear!_

After a single stern command from Morino, (and half a dozen attempts at tripping me) the floor calmed, and I began noticing more about the ascending floor and halls since I actually started listening to what the Guardian had to say about the Temple of Aoizora. I knew Tenten had been listening intently the entire time.

"As you can see, we're heading to the Portal Room, which is always located at the highest point of every Temple. It's a place of celestial honor and meant to be sacred, but is usually very difficult to get to. The floor transitions from wood to slabs of granite, as you can see - not as much essence in it, but enough to be wary of who is walking upon it. Then again, it's here in the Aoizora Temple you'll see such a feat. In other Temples, they have other ways of protecting themselves, but that is not to be discussed here."

I made note to type this all down in my laptop. Tenten seemed to be horribly interested, even more so than me, and so I made another note to ask her for the information I missed while dodging bumps in the wooden floor, now granite.

Finally, after spiraling through what I assumed was the highest part of the cathedral Temple, the inclined floors came to an end and flattened before a grand iron door. Wooden benches laced the sides, and ivy grew rampant, taking over the benches, swirling around on the floor. Certain branches decided to make their home on the door itself as well after they completely dominated the tiny amount of wall surrounding the door.

I felt even smaller in front of the metal door to the Portal Room than when I was standing before the wooden entrance to the actual Temple. The feeling the cold door exuded was… creepy.

Morino knocked on the attached metal ring, and uttered a few words under his breath. A square of wood appeared in the ring's place, and he began writing the kanji for, "Morino Ibiki" in a strange type of flawed grace - while he was fast at it, he used a different order - and finished his name with a tap on the block. The wood shrank back in, and apparently unlocked some unseen lock. The sound of cranking gears and moving parts welcomed us into the opening room, and

Surrounded by at least twenty panels of glass, two giant twin bells, and an almost 360 degree view of Aoizora, sat a circular frame made of branches, leaves, and the occasional flower. Everything, like the outside of the Temple, was clean, pristine white, as if completely untouched by any means. Light was still pouring in from the early afternoon sun, and I spotted Anko still dusting one of the two bells with a rag.

"So, this is a Portal Room?" Tenten asked, still fascinated by the sheer beauty and simplicity of the round room and of the Temple in general.

"Sure is, kid," the purple-haired woman grinned, wiping her forehead as if she had been working hard under the blazing sun. "It's not often we get guests up here either."

Morino brushed past her, and up to one of the branches beside the only nature-inspired structure in the room. And as if the leaf was a switch, he pushed down on it with his entire palm, and a pedestal rose from the ground a few feet in front of Tenten and I.

He waltz up to it, began writing the kanji for "on" and "home", then proceeded to frown when a screen appeared within the woodwork frame. It was a familiar blue color that instantly reminded me of the screen I got when my computer shut down and booted itself back up before any of the cool tools or programs kicked in - basic computer programming.

"_Error. Circuit not complete."_

He tried again. The same message appeared.

"Peculiar. It won't charge."

"You big oaf, the Holy Writing was never your forte. Let the _Master_ show you how it's done."

Anko stuffed the rag she was holding in her trench coat's pocket, pushing the bigger man out of the way of the pedestal. She also inputted the same information, but got the same exact result. ("… master." "Shut up.") The two began to bicker, even when the door reopened, and Kiba came in with Akamaru closely trailing. As a matter of fact, he joined the bicker when he too couldn't do anything to stop the blue error message from appearing. They tried at least two more times, but to no avail.

"How come it's not charging?" Kiba growled, trying to man-handle the tree trunk base. Anko tore him off, and tried again, but she only groaned in frustration.

"I'll fetch Shino," Morino said, not confessing he was also confused.

"Leave him. If we can't figure this out, how the hell can Shino? His reading skills may fuck all of us over, but you know the wood prefers us over him."

"His insects do not make the essence of the wood refuse him, Kiba," Anko hit up side the head, and went back to trying to get the portal to charge.

As they fought, Tenten went for a window, admiring. I followed, not knowing what to do.

"Pretty, huh?"

She nodded. "Very. I've never seen so much green in my life. The other side had a great view of the ocean, but living in Japan, that gets tiring."

"Hm," I hummed, glancing over my shoulder to the other side of the glass room. True to her word, there was a grand view of the ocean stretching between the view of two hills.

"I have to visit the harbor for my aunt's restaurant every week, so there's no point for me to look over there. But this," she stretched her arms, and I heard a distinct crack. I made a face.

"Did you just crack your back? In front of a med-student who knows how bad that is for your joints?"

Tenten's face of surprise came, then she said, "You're a med-student?"

"Tsunade."

"Ohh, I see, so you're the pupil everyone's talking about-"

I looked away from Tenten and the view of continuous lime and evergreen hills. The frame was still blue, and I read the message over to myself.

Error. The circuit is not complete.

The circuit is not complete.

The circuit.

I gasped out loud, and said, "The circuit is not complete. It's not complete!" The three pissed-off Guardians glared at me, but I went on to explain. I turned, and took a step forward, my eyes widening with the memories rushing in my head.

"Before I came here, when I was still, well, in the Otherworld, Earth, or whatever, I kept hearing this voice in my head," I gestured my hands accordingly, "and she told me… that the door needs all of us to open! It needed a certain number of people, I guess, and nothing happened until that last person came! Maybe a certain number of people must stand before it before it works!"

"But that doesn't make any sense," Anko exclaimed. "The doors have opened just fine before any of you were here for Inoichi-sama!"

"But that's for one person! You said my parents have used this portal before. Did they enter the portal as a group, or one at a time?"

Their faces went from dumbfounded and annoyed, to realization and a pinch of horror. They exchanged worried looks.

"Sakura-sama, you must understand… that our god gave your parents permission to use his portal. Each portal only allows one person, unless otherwise."

"What? But Mimori-san said-"

"The woman knows nothing," Morino's tone was harsh. "She is merely a peasant that Akiko-sama was kind enough to speak to. She knows more than the average Aoizora person, but it's vague."

I froze. "So you're telling me that every portal can only have one person?"

"Exactly. You're the daughter of our deities, so we all figured you had a code that allowed you and your friends to pass like Inoichi did," Kiba said, his playful nature drained.

"A code?"

"Yeah," he twinkled his fingers in the air, as if typing. "You know, _code_. The complex stuff with a whole bunch of mumbo jumbo? Like the two lines, and the pointy arrows, and the dots-"

Confused, but barely comprehending what was being told to me, I took out my computer from my bag. I opened it, and typed in a greater-than bracket. I showed it to them.

"You mean… this?"

Kiba pointed at it, and said, "Yeah! That's it! And then there are these," he began typing picking symbols from the keyboard using his index fingers. "And these…" He turned it. "Like this! _Code_!"

img = "."

Tenten was behind me and in her stunned state, whispered, "Computer programming code?"

"Your God was using a computer code to get to the Otherworld?"

The dog-like boy merely nodded, not having any issue with this at all. I groaned, and buried my face in my hands.

_None of this makes sense! I want to go home, dang it!_

It was then Shino burst through the doors, and from the blank confused part of my mind where I decided to place my thoughts, Shino's low voice said, "Someone is here. She calls herself Ino."

* * *

A creature was flying. It was its first flight, and it was enjoying it immensely, as it was told to do. It flapped its wings, making loops in the air out of glee for the feeling of wind brushing its streamlined face and body. It was designed for flight, perfect from its pointed tail with wing-like membranes to control steering, to its powerful muscles to help take off.

Buriri was a happy dragon. Not only because he was flying, but because he had a purpose… even if it was a little hazy, but that wasn't Buriri's fault. As Buriri floated, glided, and made his way across the sea and around the world, he twitched from time to time, and spoke aloud to himself.

"Buriri, Buriri, Bu-Buri-riri," the purple membrane over his keen eyes kinked up, then relaxed in a sporadic fashion. His pitch black pupil looked like a faulty TV, the sharp lines becoming jagged with every twitch. Every part of the dragon twitched and moved unwillingly for a split second except for its smoothed-out back, with its eight saddle-like shapes.

Suddenly, the twitch worsened, and temporarily paralyzed the black and purple creature. With a slick sound, and a poof, an toy-like creature fell from the sky and into the awaiting ocean. Buriri waved its now stubby arms frantically, his wings useless in this form.

"BUUURIRIIIII." The cry echoed, but no one was around to hear it.

From the darkness of a prison, a man with a beard, glasses, and a wide forehead grimaced. He knew he had left some faults in his coding, but he had prayed that they weren't too bad. But seeing as he had no control over the crazy guide dragon, and that the dragon had no control over its transformations or brain. He didn't have any other choice though. It was either destroy all his work and never get this chance again, or let this half-assed piece of work try to do its purpose to the best of its haywire ability.

And worst of all, aside from his daughter's future guide being completely unreliable, that man knew something was up. He mentally cursed his captor. If only he hadn't returned early! He could've gone back in his code and corrected everything! But he had, and behind the metal frame, burning green eyes shined with stubborn willpower.

What could that long-haired person be thinking that he had to come to PARADISE a day previous to the one he typically did?

* * *

A/N: BURIRI MAKES HIS APPEARANCE. IT TOOK ME LONG ENOUGH TO FINALLY TYPE THIS ALL OUT. NO, I AM NOT DEAD. UH. YEAH.

(1): Giniro is silver  
Technically, "gin" means silver. "Iro" is an indication I mean a color, albeit not in an adjective form, but in a noun form.

(2): Daiumi  
Great, or Big, Ocean.

(3): Isn't this a temple? Why mass?  
Because of the structure of the building, the religious meetings are called mass in Aoizora. I don't know, it just seemed right when I was typing it.

(4): Reading Kanji 101  
When reading kanji, there are two ways of reading it: the Japanese pronunciation, and the Chinese pronunciation. The Japanese pronunciation is used typically when there is only one kanji surrounded by hiragana, which one of Japan's writing systems (the other two being katakana for things foreign to Japan, and kanji). The second way is used when there are at least two kanji symbols placed together. For example, Sakura's last name Haruno is spelled like this: 春野. The first means spring, and can only be pronounced, "haru". The second means field, but it can be pronounced as, "ya" as well as, "no", depending on what other kanji it's paired up with. In Sakura's case, it's pronounced, "no", and thus, her name is Haruno.


End file.
